


A Lone Wolf

by Echoes19



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Essos, OC first person - Freeform, Violence, Westeros, based on the game of thrones tv show, follows OC storyline, long story, loooots of chapters, will stray slightly from the series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:01:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 26,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29830167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echoes19/pseuds/Echoes19
Summary: Nobody had to wake me up today. Usually, it would take Arya’s loud voice to wake me up, or Robb’s strong push, but today was different. I could feel something coming to Winterfell. Something big was about to happen, I just didn’t know what.If only it had stayed that way.
Relationships: Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark, Cersei Lannister/Jaime Lannister, Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth, OC/Arya Stark, OC/Littlefinger, OC/Sansa, OC/The Starks, Robert Baratheon/Cersei Lannister, Tormund Giantsbane/Brienne of Tarth, Tormund Giantsbane/Jon Snow
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	1. Let The Games Begin

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This fic is a very long one, it will cover all 8 seasons of game of thrones. And I will probably rewrite some seasons or episodes to fit the story. I am making this because I wanted to so this entire story will have the ending that I wanted to happen (different than the show) but I don't mind criticism, I just want to improve on my writing and write a story in the Game of Thrones universe. I hope you enjoy! :)

1 – Let The Games Begin

Nobody had to wake me up today. Usually, it would take Arya’s loud voice to wake me up, or Robb’s strong push, but today was different. I could feel something coming to Winterfell. Something big was about to happen, I just didn’t know what. If only it had stayed that way. 

I carried the excitement I had for an unknown reason with me as I climbed out of my fur bed. My room wasn’t as big as Sansa’s or Robb’s, but it was bigger than Arya’s. I had a bookcase filled with stories from across the water. Places I knew I would never go, yet filled me with so much wonderment. Next to the bookcase was a mirror that scaled all the way from the stone floor to the ceiling. It was beautiful.

As I stood in front of the mirror, my bright green eyes stared back at me. I was born the same day as Sansa, three minutes after. Yet, I hardly even looked related to her. She had blue-ish eyes whereas mine were as green as the leaves in the forests in Winterfell. She had a soft face shape, whereas my jawline was sharp and my cheekbones were high. Her hair was a brilliant shade of red, just lighter than mother’s, but mine was a dark shade of brown, just like father’s. We both had very pale skin, a reflection of Winterfell. At least we both looked like Starks.

I pulled a dress over my head and tied my long hair back. I knew that I didn’t suit the princess style as much as Sansa, but I didn’t mind much as long as I was pretty enough. I ran down stone steps and out into the courtyard, where people buzzed around, getting on with their day. Winterfell was a closer community than people liked to admit. Everyone knew everyone, but I liked it that way.

I ran into the tent. I must have woken up later than I had realized as all the other girls were sat down and had started their stitches. “Willow! Your late!” Septa Mordane sighed. I sighed an apology and sat down next to Arya, who had started her stitches, yet they looked as chaotic as a simple stitchwork could. I looked over at Sansa’s, which was a perfect rose. I was bad at stitches, yet again I did not mind, afterall, in a battle no one will ask you to sit down and stitch something.

The sound of an arrow whooshing past the tent caused both mine and Arya’s heads to snap up. I gave her a knowing look and she replied with a little smile and a nod. She was only 11 years old, and I was 12, yet we still managed to trick Septa Mordane into thinking that we both simultaneously felt too ill to continue with the stitches. She sighed and we giggled happily before running out of the tent, not caring that we looked suddenly cured of our short and suspicious illnesses.

Sure enough, Bran was practicing his archery with Robb and Jon, while mother and father watched from a balcony. I grabbed a bow and arrow silently from behind Robb and gave a smile to Arya before pulling the bow back and aiming, I had been practicing archery with Robb ever since I had learned to walk. There was something about it that attracted me so much. I let go of the string and the arrow cut threw the air, swiftly past my siblings head and directly into the centre of the target. I laughed with Arya as my siblings and parents looked at me with astonishment. Arya was good at archery too, but she had always preferred the melee side of weapons. She wasn’t allowed to learn the skill yet as she wasn’t trusted with a sword until she was at least older than 15. Not to mention that girls weren’t even supposed to know how to use a bow and arrow, let alone a sword. Bran threw his bow to the ground and chased after me playfully, I laughed and ran around.

Days were so much easier back then.

Some time close to the end of the day, Jon called me over to the Banquet Hall. I frowned, he was standing with Robb and Theon looking serious. Suddenly, I heard some very quiet squeals coming from Robb and Theon's arms. “What are they holding?” I asked Jon, confused at what sort of animal made such a sound. Robb looked down at his arms and laughed to himself.

“This one is definitely yours, Willow. Take good care of it or father will take it away.” He smiled, lifting a small furry thing from his arms. He placed it carefully in my arms, and it stared up at me with pure green eyes. Its fur was a beautiful shade of dark brown, just like my hair. I could see why Robb had laughed. It was like someone had turned me into a small animal.

“What is it?” I asked, not taking my eyes away from the adorable bundle of fluff, gently falling asleep in my arms.

“That’s a direwolf. We found them earlier. Exactly the same amount as the Stark children. We all have one, and they are the sigil of our house. Do you remember what you learned about the direwolf?” Robb asked. I thought hard for a second before gasping.

“They grow to up twice the size of a normal wolf. The same height as a human male.” I stared down at the small pup in my arms, that was fast asleep. It was hard to think that such an animal would eventually be able to rip someones head off with one quick swipe.

“So what are you going to name her?” Theon asked, nodding down at the apparently female direwolf. I thought for a moment.

“Ivy.” I smiled, her eyes were a reflection of the pure green of Ivy leaves. My attention snapped away from Ivy when my mothers slightly-stressed voice filled the hall. 

“Boys! Willlow! Get to your rooms! The King is on his way!”

The King? What was he doing all the way down in Winterfell? Nevertheless, I ran upstairs and into my room, where Septa Mordane, Sansa and Arya were waiting. Sansa and Arya’s hair were beautifully tied and plaited. I had no doubt that I was going to have the same thing done. Sure enough, mother tied my hair into a beautiful double plait, and picked a none-mud covered dress that suited my own specific features, before she sat my sisters and I down.

“I need you to be on your best behaviours. The King and his company are visiting our home. If you misbehave, you will be disappointing your family.” She sounded very serious, with a hint of nervous. I nodded to show that I understood.

“Is Joffrey coming?” Sansa asked, excitement in her voice. Arya and I rolled our eyes. It was common knowledge that Sansa wanted to marry Joffrey as soon as was physically possibly. I didn’t see what all the fuss was about.

“Yes, Sansa. The entirety of the Kings company will be there.” Mother replied. Even mother was getting sick of Sansa talking about Joffrey.

But I was particularly excited about seeing The Hound. One of the main guards. He was told to be incredibly tall and scary, one swift swipe to the face would throw you half the way to Pentos.

Suddenly a loud horn was blown outside.

Were they here already?


	2. The Royals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Royals arrive at Winterfell.

2- The Royals

I ran outside, and sure enough, horse after horse was piling through the gates of Winterfell. The people that were arriving looked less than pleased to have been on the road for at least a month, but I didn't blame them. Afterall, the longest I had been on the road was around fifteen minutes when I was five when I decided that I wanted to escalate a game of Hide and Seek with Robb. It's safe to say that game was banned after that.

My family had lined up, all wearing their best clothes. Their direwolves stood proudly next to them. Sansa's was called Princess and had a beautiful grey and white coat, Bran's was called Summer and had bright piercing yellow eyes. Robb's was a huge build, bigger than average for a direwolf and thats really saying something, it was taller than me. Robb's was called Greywind. Jon's was different, it had scary red eyes and white fur, called Ghost. Rickon's was the smallest and looked a lot like Ivy, except his was male and called Shaggydog. Arya's was mostly white but had bright blue eyes, she was called Nymeria. All of them were at least up to my waist when I walked beside them. 

I stood on the right side of Sansa, even if I was the younger twin, I was taller than her and more developed. She didn't like that because she thought that Joffrey would pick the one that bled first, but I always questioned her by saying how would he even know if we had bled yet or not. She was full of irrational questions when it came to the prince.

On my other side was Robb, I was tall, but not the as tall as Robb. I was up to his chin height, and I was only about five centimetres taller than Sansa, but she still somehow took it that I looked older than her. 

Lookind down the line, I noticed a gap from Sansa to Bran. Where was Arya? As if reading my mind, father asked, "Sansa, where is Arya?" Sansa shrugged. I looked around, until finally, just in time, a small figure wearing a familiar dress ran over. Father stopped them and I noticed they were wearing a helmet that was way too big for their head. Father took the helmet off to reveal an Arya. We laughed and Arya ran to her place, before a rather fat man got off a horse. Then, by the amount of guards following him, I realized that he must have been the King. Suddenly everyone got down on their knee as he walked over. Of course, this meant that the dresses we wore would now be muddy, but graciousness comes before fashion I suppose. 

I saw the King give a gesture for us to stand up and then stood at eyeline with my father. He was a little shorter and fatter than my father yet he still managed to say, "You got fat."

My father was hardly fat. We lived in the North so we got different kinds of food than people down in Kings Landing. Plus it was less stressful in Winterfell so less people drank their troubles away, unlike what I heard King's Landing people were like. 

There was a deafening silence before my father gestured to the Kings stomach, the air was filled with just their roaring laughter. They were old friends, yet the last time the King had visited Winterfell was 9 years ago. I hardly remembered him. 

"Cat!" He turned to my mother, who curtsied. He hugged her as if they were just pals. Next, the King turned to Robb, they stared at each other. "Robb." They looked at each other as if they were in a war, possibly against each other or with them- I wasn't sure. He turned to me. 

Mother had always taught me to show people my nicest features first, so I looked the King directly in the eye, so that he could see my pure green eyes. "Willow. You've grown up a lot since I last saw you." He looked over at father, and gestured at Sansa and I. "Are you sure they're twins?" He laughed, father laughed as if to just go along with it. I wasn't sure what to make of that comment, afterall, I knew I didn't look like Sansa, but the way he said it. Did he mean I was ugly? I didn't listen as he went down the rest of the line. 

Instead, I watched with Sansa and Arya as more people arrived. A woman got off her horse. She wore a beautiful, regal dress, and had blonde hair and blue eyes. She must be the Queen, I thought to myself. She had a cruel face, all of the features that should have been beautiful, yet past mental trauma's had set a frown on her, as if she was stone. She walked over to my parents, behind her, a man got off a horse. He wore the royal armour and had the most magnificent sword on his side. The man lifted the helmet off his face to reveal the most handsome man I had ever seen. He had blond-ish brown hair that went down to his strong jaw, and he had blue eyes, he carried a smug expression on his face, as if he was finding something amusing. Suddenly, I realized that I had been staring at him, I looked at the ground as I felt my cheeks grow red. He must have seen me. Arya giggled.

I thought about it, before realizing that the man was Jaime Lannister, the Queens twin brother. They looked more like twins than Sansa and I. 

"Where's the imp?" Arya questioned.

"Shut up." Sansa hissed. I followed Arya's searching gaze, and sure enough, Tyrion Lannister was nowhere to be seen. He was known, not only for being smaller than average, but also for reading and drinking. He must have been at one of the local taverns, that was a shame, I had always wanted to meet him. There was talk that he knew everything. I also wanted to talk to the Hound, but now, as he got off his horse and lifted the helmet, that was in the shape of a dog, to reveal his half burned face, I decided it would be wise to avoid him. I didn't want to risk annoying him. 

After all the necessary graces had been referred to, people dispersed. I felt a sudden urge to do some archery, but I didn't like the chaotic amount of people now in Winterfell, so I took a target, and slung some arrows over my shoulder, Ivy took a bow in her mouth and we walked out of the gates of Winterfell and into a nearby forest. I was only about 7 minutes out of Winterfell, so if someone caught me then it wouldn't be that dangerous. 

I set up the arching equipment, before taking an arrow and the bow and pulling the string back. I cleared my mind, breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth slowly, before closing my eyes and letting go of the arrow. The familiar sound of the arrow whipping through the air and hitting the target graced my eyes. I opened my eyes, and sure enough, the arrow was directly in the centre of the target. I rarely tested myself, so that was a first. Except, I wanted to see how perfect I could aim. So I drew another arrow and turned around, with my back to the target. I made sure Ivy wasn't within hitting range, before closing my eyes and raising the bow back over my shoulder. I listened to the rustle of the leaves in the cold winter trees, before letting go of the string. I listened as the arrow splinted through the first one, and hit directly on target. I laughed and Ivy barked excitedly. I ruffled her fur before going to pull the arrows out of the target. 

Suddenly, a clap from behind me made me quickly sling an arrow and pull the string back menacingly. But when I turned around to aim, I saw my father with a proud smile on his face. "You are the best archer I have ever seen. And you are a 13 year old girl. Now thats something." He laughed, walking over to me. 

"Are you... angry?" I asked, unsure of how father knew I was there. He shook his head, before sitting down on a nearby log and gesturing for me to sit with him. I sat down and Ivy sat at my feet, watching intently. She was tall now, but I knew she was to grow more, just like me. 

Father and I had regularly talks like these. He had always found me the less chaotic stark, compared to Sansa who constantly spoke about Joffrey, Arya who couldn't bare to stay still for over five minutes, Robb who was always busy practicing his fighting with Jon, and mother, who was working with Maester Luwin and the others to provide for the staff and other events. Rickon was too young to understand much of what father said, whereas I was either reading or practicing archery. I lived a simple life, and I knew that I took after my father when he was my age. 

"Is everything ok?" I asked him, looking at the uncertain look on his face. 

"What do you think of the King, and the Lannisters?" He asked me. 

I thought about it for a moment before answering, "They are complicated. Except, also incredibly simple people. You can tell what they all want just by looking at them. The King seems like the purest person there, and thats saying something. And all the Lannisters have stupid blonde hair." I never had any worries about saying exactly what was in my mind to father, but he was the only person, other than Robb. 

Father laughed at my response, before nodding. "That's true. What about Joffrey?" He asked me. I knew what he was actually asking. 

"Sansa likes him more than me. I don't mind." I replied, he nodded, understanding. 

"The King has appointed me as Hand of the King." Father said suddenly. I looked at him in shock. 

"...Hand of the King?!" 


	3. A Night To Be Remembered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winterfell hosts an evening Banquet for the King's party, before the Journey to Kings Landing begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention earlier, that this will be split into seasons like in the show, and I will probably take a couple of days break in between seasons to plan for the rest of the season. Thank you for reading! I hope you are well :)

3- A Night To Be Remembered

The King's party had stayed in Winterfell for a week now, and it was time for them to leave, but before they left, the King ordered for a Banquet to be held the night before their journey home begins. 

I put on a pretty dress again, and left my long hair to fall to my waist. It had streaks of auburn in it when I was in the sun, but it was mainly dark, almost black, like Arya's. Tonight was Sansa's last night to flirt with Joffrey, so I had decided that I would just let her have this night. I didn't really like him anyway. The past week I had come to learn more of what he was like, and he found that he took after his mother a lot. He had the Lannister's blonde and blue hair, but he was also overly competitive and arrogant, he also had a very punchable face but I kept those thoughts to myself. 

I ran down the steps to the Banquet Hall, I was late, but nobody would have noticed as the Hall was filled with people, all the tables were full, except a single seat at a table with Joffrey, Sansa, Sansa's friends, Robb and Arya. I couldn't see Jon or Theon though. Mother was sitting at the head table with Queen Cersei, and father was talking to Jaime Lannister. The King was obviously drunk on wine and was getting a bit rowdy. I sat next to Robb and thanked him for saving me a seat. Ivy had to stay back in my room because I didn't want drunken people to get overly rowdy and scare her. I still didn't know the full extent of her strength yet, and I didn't particularly want to find out tonight. 

I watched as Joffrey and Sansa stared at each other, before Sansa giggled excitedly to her friends. I turned to Robb and Arya and rolled my eyes overly dramatically, making them laugh. It was a jolly atmosphere, warming to the heart. But I double checked to make sure that my cup was filled with water instead of wine. 

Robb already knew my thoughts on Joffrey as I had spoken to him about as soon as I had thought those thoughts. He completely understood. 

"Willow! Sansa!" Mothers voice called us from the head table. I got up with Sansa and we walked over, curtsying to the Queen. 

"Your Grace." I greeted the Queen. She studied us carefully, looking at our faces and dresses. 

"Such beauties." She smiled, it was definitely a fake smile, but I appeared to be the only one that knew, or mother was very good at hiding her dismay at having to sit next to Cersei all night. The Queen turned to Sansa. "Your dress, did you make it?" Sansa nodded. "Such talent. You must make something for me." She smiled, and Sansa smiled happy at the compliment. Cersei turned to me. "You have a beautiful build. You look developed for you age." She stated, I couldn't tell if this was a compliment or not. "Have either of you bled yet?" I was taken aback at first by such a question, I looked at mother for guidance. The truth was, I had already bled, I started when I was 12, much earlier. But I knew better than to say that, for Sansa's sake. So, we both shook our heads. Cersei nodded, I knew that she would have been a little bit suspicious of me, but every womens body is different, so she could't question it too much. Sansa and I sat back at the table, and she nodded thankfully at me before proceeding with flirting with Joffrey. 

As the night wore on, I grew more and more tired of the amount of people and the noise of the rowdy, alcohol-intoxicated people. I got up to my feet and told Robb that I was just going to get some fresh air, he nodded. 

I walked out of the Banquet Hall and into the courtyard. It was silent apart from a blacksmiths hammer working in the night. I walked over to wear Jon was getting his sword made. "A new sword?" I asked. He nodded.

"I have been meaning to tell you, Willow. I am going to Castle Black. To serve on the Nightswatch." He explained. 

I stared at him in shock. He was leaving Winterfell. I had learned about the men that took places on Nightswatch, so I knew that it was a life-long committment, I also knew that it was usually criminals and boys that weren't wanted by their fathers that wore the Black. 

"But Jon, you aren't a criminal. Why would you do that to yourself?" I asked him, I couldn't understand why he would exile himself to the coldest part of Westeros, with no family or friends, just criminals and snow. 

"Do you remember Uncle Benjen? He told me what it's like to be in the Nightswatch, and now I can't imagine myself doing anything else for the rest of my life. I was made to be a man of the Nightswatch, Willow. I leave tomorrow." He explained, there wasn't a single hint of regret in his voice, so I knew he meant it. I nodded in understanding and he hugged me. "I knew you'd understand." He told me. There was a pain at the back of my throat, but I didn't want Jon's last memories at Winterfell to be upsetting. When we broke apart, he had the hint of tears in his eyes, but he cleared his throat and suggested," Willow, you should go to bed, it's very late." I nodded and smiled at him, before turning to the castle and heading up the steps to my room. 

Arya's door was closed, which meant she must have been sent to bed already. Looking down the corridor, I noticed that most doors were closed, many people must have decided to go to bed, afterall they did have an awfully long journey ahead of them the next day. I walked past door after door as quietly as I could. But when I walked past my parents room, hushed voices made me stop in my tracks. I carefully pressed my ear to the door and listened. I was always too nosy for my own good. 

There were three voices, easily distinguishable. Mother, father, and Maester Luwin. What were they doing in there? I listened more. 

"This was sent from the Eeyrie. Lysa hasn't been back there in years. What is she doing there?" My mother's voice sounded concerned. There was the sound of crinkling paper, she must have been reading a letter. There was a gasp and my fathers voice. 

"Cat? What is it?" He asked, worried. There was the patter of footsteps and then the sound of something being set on fire, it must have been the letter. This intrigued me even more. 

"Lysa thinks that Jon Arryn was murdered." My mothers voice explained. Lysa was my Auntie, my mothers sister, I hadn't met her, as I hadn't left Winterfell in my entire life, but she didn't strike me as a person that I particularly wanted to meet. I didn't know Jon Arryn that well either, all I knew about him was that he recently died, and that he used to be Hand of the King. If he had been murdered, then that could mean all sorts of corruption was taking place behind the throne. My thoughts were interrupted when the door knob began to turn and I quickly ran to my room and shut the door quietly. 

What was happening? 


	4. See You Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People start their separate journey's across Westeros.

4- See You Later 

I woke up to the sound of what sounded like a hoard of people rushing around outside. It was the start of the journey to Kings Landing. Father had sat Arya, Sansa and I down and told us that he wanted us to go to Kings Landing with him. Arya was apprehensive, but she eventually agreed. Sansa couldn't be happier. I really did not want to go, I loved Winterfell so much. But I knew that I would have to leave and marry someday. I woke up, Sansa had made me a dress for the journey, it had the Stark sigil on the shoulder and a beautiful lace belt. I pulled on some boots and tied the laces. 

All I needed to do now was pack a bag. I woke up Ivy and fed her some meat from a small box. I had made a mental list of everything I need to pack the night before, as I was having trouble sleeping. The new information from the night before was still fresh in my mind. If Aunt Lysa was right, and Jon Arryn had been killed, what did it mean for father? Was he in danger? I felt a need to now go with father and my sisters to Kings Landing, to help protect them. 

I turned back to a fairly large bag and a backpack. The backpack is what I took with me on the horse, and the large bag went on a trailer behind the horse. I packed my clothes and underwear into the large bag, with a few books in there too, and spare arrows, just in case. I had a secret knife that I had been given to me by a passing traveller when I was 10. It was the length of my forearm, and very sharp. I had no idea why they gave it to me, all they said was "It's not safe out there, kid, take this." They must have taken a liking to me because I knew that no other of my siblings had been given things from travellers. I hid it well for three years, because I knew that my parents would go crazy if they found out. I didn't give it a name because I didn't plan on ever using it. But I tucked it safely in a cloth at the bottom of my rucksack. I put a small box of meat in my rucksack for Ivy and my favourite book "Tales from Across the Water". I made sure I had everything before slinging my rucksack on my shoulder and picking the bag up with both hands, it wasn't that heavy because I didn't have a lot that I wanted to take. It didn't feel like my possessions would be safe in Kings Landing. 

I made sure Ivy was with me before leaving my room, I took one last look before closing the door.

I walked past many people, hurrying around the castle, some with bags, some not, however there were a lot that were holding bandages, and surgical equipment. There were so many that I was starting to get worried someone close to me had been hurt. I followed one of the people with bandages through the halls of Winterfell, until they came to a room. It was Bran's room. Something had happened to Bran. I tried to get into the room but no one would let me past. I gave up trying to get in, and instead ran outside to the busy courtyard. People were buzzing around, horses were getting bags loaded onto them, and people were busying themselves with making sure nothing was forgotten. Some people had already left. 

I looked around for my family, but it was too busy. I found my assigned horse. She was beautiful. She was white and had a long mane. She had strong legs, and looked as if she could run for miles without needing a break. I hooked up a medium-sized trailer to the back of her, it was big enough to fit a direwolf in so I helped Ivy into it. It was safely locked on, and had a roof on top of it, in case it rained. I had brought down some pillows to make sure that Ivy was comfortable for the long journey, and sure enough, she fell asleep. I must have woken her up with my restlessness the night before. 

I pushed my bag into the trailer and checked that the weight wasn't too much for the horse. She seemed ok, as Ivy wasn't a fully grown direwolf yet. She was roughly just heavier than an average wolf. I gave the horse an apple and she neighed thankfully. My rucksack was still on bag, and I made sure that the knife hadn't poked out the bag, it hadn't. 

I turned around, and I still couldn't find any of my family. I ran up the steps to check on Bran again, this time, the corridor was completely empty, the door was closed, so I carefully pushed it open. Mother was sitting at the side of the bed and Bran's dog, Summer was sleeping at the foot of the bed. Bran looked ghostly pale, and deeply asleep. I ran over to him, tears in my eyes. 

"Whats wrong with him?" I gasped. Mother did not answer, I looked over at her, she looked exhausted, and her eyes were swollen red from crying. She looked me in the eyes. 

"He fell from one of the towers earlier this morning. Maester Luwin and his team worked on him since, he's alive, just. But we don't know if he will ever wake up." She whispered. Bran had always liked climbing. He had done it since he was able to walk. But he had never fallen. Not once. 

I turned back to Bran. Everytime he had been sick, he always bounced back, and deep inside I knew that this time, he would wake up, in fact, I had no doubt about it. "Mother, he will wake up. I know it." I told her, with confidence in my voice. She smiled weakly at him. I could see outside that people were preparing to leave, so I kissed Bran on the forehead. "Goodbye brother. When you wake up, make sure you write me a letter." I joked, before stroking Summer on the head. I walked over to mother and hugged her, I knelt down on my knees and held her hands in mine. "Goodbye mother. I will be back soon." I smiled, she hugged me, before going back to Bran. I knew she wouldn't leave his side until he woke up, so I got to my knees and exited the room and out into courtyard. Theon was leaning against the entrance pillar to the castle. "Theon!" I made him jump. Theon had been with us all my life. I don't remember a time without him. He was like one of my brothers. I hugged him. 

"Have a good time, Will." He smiled. No one would ever answer my question when I asked why his last name was Greyjoy and not Stark. 

I turned back to my horse, checking on Ivy. She was still fast asleep. Someone hugged me from behind and I gasped. "Did you think you were going to leave without getting to say goodbye?" Robb's voice came from behind me. I laughed. I turned around, and gasped when I saw what he was holding. It was the most beautiful bow that I had ever seen. I could tell that it was made from the wood of a willow tree, it was strong and sturdy, and it hardly bent. It had the Stark sigil on both ends and a beautiful branch like pattern going down the length of it. Robb was the one that had taught me first how to make arrows and use a bow. Tears stung my eyes, and I hugged Robb again. 

"It's beautiful." I whispered. 

"I had specially made last night. Take it, just in case. Don't let anyone know you have it, or it will be taken away from you. Have a good time in the Capital, Will." He smiled, before turning back to the Castle. The bow felt so perfectly weighted in my hand, it was perfect in every way. Quickly, before anyone could see, I packed onto the bag in my trailer, before looking for Jon. I had to say goodbye before he left. But it was too crowded, either he had already left, or he was still asleep. I sighed, I would just have to write to him when I got to Kings Landing. 

My father walked up behind me and helped me onto my horse. "Follow Sansa, Arya is on my horse with me." He explained. I nodded. I had learned how to ride a horse about five years before, so I knew what I was doing. I watched as people started to file out, some on horses, some walking. I loved the feeling of the wind in my hair as I rode the horse. It just felt so free, yet I knew that I wasn't. I waited until finally, Sansa's horse began to move and I followed. 

"Goodbye Winterfell." I whispered, looking at my home. I felt teary-eyed, as I turned around, but as a tear fell, I quickly wiped it away and turned to the road ahead. 

It was going to be a long journey. I could only hope that it would be worth it. 


	5. On The Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Half way into the journey, everyones takes a break, but someone ends up getting hurt... or worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do have a very random update schedule by the way ahaha, thank you for reading, I am hoping to get more action in these coming chapters now. Hope you enjoy! :)
> 
> PS: This is the first reminder that this series will have some pretty explicit swearing, afterall, it is game of thrones. :)

5- On The Road

It had been two weeks since we had left Winterfell. This was the furthest I had been from home, and I would be lying if I said I didn't feel very homesick, but I was hoping that it would get better when I arrived at Kings Landing. It took one month to get from Winterfell to Kings Landing, and we were half way in, which meant only another two weeks to go. We had a break of two days, stopping at local taverns and servants setting up tents for the wealthier people to stay in, I preferred sleeping wherever Ivy was, which was usually in my horses trailer, it felt warmer there. Safer. 

Finally, we stopped riding, and I hopped off my horse, I gave her a few apples, before tying her gently to a fence. I gave some meat to Ivy and walked over to Sansa, she was talking to her friends. "Sansa, how are you?" I asked, making sure that the ride hadn't taken too much out of her. She looked healthy enough, not tired at all. 

"I'm ok. I can't wait to get to Kings Landing, Willow, we were already talking about all of the things that we will be able to do there. Joffrey might even let us sit on the Iron Throne!" She laughed. I smiled before walking away. I had never doubted anything else more than Robert Baratheon allowing anyone to sit on that Throne, let alone Joffrey. 

I walked around, trying to find Arya, when I accidentally bumped it out The Hound. He towered over me, looking at me menacingly, though I believe that was just his resting face. "Looking for someone?" He asked, I could tell that he probably had better things to do, but he did ask the question so it wouldn't hurt to answer it. I hoped. 

"I'm looking for my little sister, Arya. Have you seen her?" I asked him. My accent almost sounded posh compared to his. He nodded, he must have seen her. 

"She's around there, by the river." He pointed, I followed his brown eyes to where I saw a river. 

"Thank you." I smiled at him, but he did not smile back, instead he turned around and carried on the way he was going. I knew how he acted all tough, but deep inside, he was probably one of the kinder people in Westeros, if you were close to him. He was one of those loyal people, if you did something for him, then he would do something for you. I kept that in mind, before running over to where I saw the river. I followed it down until I came to where Arya was practicing her fighting with a boy, I had seen him Winterfell with the butcher. He must have been the butcher's son.

They both had wooden swords, and it didn't seem like a serious fight, so I let them carry on. I found a nice patch of grass, it was sunny so Nymeria and I were taking in the as much sun as we could, by lying in the grass. There was hardly ever sun in Winterfell, so it fell refreshing to have a change. 

I heard voices that made Nymeria's ears flick upwards. I turned around to see Joffrey and Sansa walking over. Joffrey was holding a suspicious hip flask made of leather, and he kept drinking out of it. He gave it to Sansa to hold. She took a sip of it. I looked at her carefully, if that was alcohol then father would get very very angry. 

I watched carefully as Joffrey approached Arya and the boy, with a frustrating grin on his face. He was obviously trying to impress Sansa. He moved Arya out of the way and got closer to the butchers boy. Joffrey took out his sword, it was a proper sword, no match for a wooden one. I glared at Joffrey, as he raised his sword to the boys cheek. "I could have your head for talking to princesses, you know that right?" He smiled, smugly. 

"I didn't mean any harm. Lady Arya was just-" The boy tried to explain, he was only young, just the same age as Arya. 

Suddenly, Joffrey pressed his sword deeper into the boys face and slit a cut into his cheek. Blood dripped down, and without a thought, Arya started hitting Joffrey with her wooden sword. I got to my feet and ran to help. Looking at the boy, I whispered, "Go!" Before turning to Joffrey and Arya. 

"You little shit! I am going to cut your guts out!" Joffrey shouted, anger in his voice. Arya dodged Joffrey's swings, barely. I was just ready to push Joffrey into the river as Nymeria beat me to it. She pounced on Joffrey, biting his hand, violently. Joffrey let out a scream, to my amusement he sounded quite feminine, but I didn't find a lot funny as all I could think about was what would happen to Nymeria if the Queen found out what she had done. Sansa was screaming at Arya. 

"Arya! Get Nymeria off him!" She shouted. Arya got to her feet and pulled the wolf of the prince, who lay whimpering on the grass, I had seen worse cuts, yet he acted like his hand had been brutally ripped off. I knew that Nymeria could have done a lot worse if she had wanted to. I knelt down beside Arya. 

"Arya, you have to let her go. If the Queen finds out what Nymeria did, she'll be killed." I explained. Arya nodded, she had tears in her eyes, but I knew she was strong enough to do this. I watched as Arya took Nymeria across the river, and turned back to Joffrey and Sansa. 

Sansa was trying to help. "My prince, my prince. I'm so sorry, my love. I will get you fixed up, let me help you up." She tried to hold the prince's hand but he shrugged her off coldly. Sansa looked deeply hurt, as Joffrey ran off like an upset toddler. I got up to offer my comfort to Sansa but she ran off after him. 

I turned as Arya came back across the river with no Nymeria, wiping tears from her cheeks. I gave her a hug. "It's ok, Arya. Direwolves are the most loyal creatures. You will see her again eventually." I explained, she nodded and we ran after Joffrey and Sansa, seeing what the aftereffects of the previous events were going to be. 

\---

It was the evening, and everyone had gathered into the tavern. The King sat on a chair, with the Queen beside him. Joffrey stood with the Queen, his hand in a bandage, glaring at my sisters and I. My father and my siblings and I stood before the royalties. 

"Right, what happened?" The King asked, not wanting deal with childish fights. 

"Her wolf attacked me!" Joffrey explained. Obviously he wouldn't explain the entire story. 

"Is this true?" Robert asked Arya. 

"He deserved it! He attacked the butchers boy. He cut a big slit into-" Arya tried to explain, a hint of anger in her voice. 

"Liar! She's lying!" Joffrey shouted, tensions getting higher and higher. The King raised his hand for silence. 

"Sansa, you were there. What happened?" He asked my sister. My sister looked from Joffrey to Arya. I could see everyones point of view, and felt bad for Sansa to be put in such a difficult place, but still, I wouldn't have said what she had said.

"I'm not sure, I didn't see it. I was talking to Willow." She replied, in a quiet voice, hint of tears in her voice. I looked her with a subtle, but dissapointed look in my eyes. 

Joffrey and Arya erupted into shouts about how each other were lying again. "Silence!" The King shouted, causing everyone's voices to subside. "You let a little girl attack you? So her wolf came to help?" He turned to his son. He must have known how loyal direwolves were and slowly pieced together the stories. He was more clever than he looked. Joffrey looked to the ground, with obvious embarrassment in his face. 

The King sighed and got to his feet. He turned to father. "You have your girl disciplined and I will see to my boy being disciplined." He sighed before exiting the crowded room. I thought it was over, but the Queen spoke up. 

"The wolf. Surely it should be punished?" She said, her cruel side showing prominently. She said this in such a calm voice that it made me shiver. A guard spoke up from behind us.

"We only found one direwolf. Tied to the fence outside." The guard explained. All of the colour drained from my face and my hands grew sweaty, it didn't take a genius to know what was about to happen, and Sansa knew it too.They must have not known that Ivy was in a trailer with my horse. We looked at each other with obvious fear before turning to the Queen. 

"Kill it. To set an example, of course. Dire wolves are rabid animals, not pets. They are dangerous." She ordered, still using her calm voice. Anger fueled in my veins. 

"Don't kill her! It's not her fault!" I shouted to father. Father looked at Sansa with sad eyes. 

"Lady did nothing wrong!" Sansa screamed. 

"Leave her alone!" Arya shouted back. I could see conflict behind my fathers eyes. I felt bad for him, but at that moment the only emotion that would stay was pure anger. 

"It's not Lady's fault! If you kill that wolf, it won't do anything but bad, please father, please!" I begged, tears in my eyes. I couldn't bear to think of such an innocent animal being killed for no reason. The pain it would cause my sister, and the danger it put Ivy in. Father sighed. 

"I'm sorry, Sansa." Father whispered, before leaving. I heard him take out his sword as he walked out of the building. Sansa collapsed to the ground in floods of tears and I knelt down beside her, holding her as she cried into my shoulder. Tears ran down my cheeks too, and I could sense Arya's rage from next to me. 

The Lannisters were going to pay for what they had done to that wolf. I would make sure of it. 


	6. The City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, they arrive at Kings Landing. But what problems will they face in the Capital?

6- The City

It had been two weeks since Lady had died. Sansa hadn't spoken to father or Arya since. Every now and then she spoke to me, but not a lot. I understood why though. After that night, I took extra care in making sure nobody saw Ivy. I covered her with blankets, and helped her hide behind my large luggage, I even offered to put other peoples luggage into the trailer, to appear helpful, when really I was just using it to cover Ivy up. 

Two weeks more meant that we had been on the road for a month, and sure enough, we rode across a bridge and into the busy city market. It was chaotic. People were getting on with their lives, but they all parted like a sea of people when the King's party arrived. I watched as people stared at the new faces. It was strange, having that many eyes on me, and I didn't like it one bit, but I completely forgot about the people looking at me when I saw the castle ahead of me. 

It was so beautiful. It had huge towers covered in Ivy leaves. It was made out of what looked like stone, or sandstone, or maybe discoloured brick, but it was beautiful nontheless. It overlooked the ocean, which made it even more beautiful. 

Everyone unloaded in the courtyard, and I hopped off my horses and walked her to the stables, to give her some well-needed rest. On the road, I had a lot of time to think, so I had come up with a name for my horse. Winter. It wasn't exactly creative, but she had a coat like snow, and Winter reminded me of home. She was so pretty, I fed her some apples before leaving her to get her sleep. I waited for the courtyard to grow quieter before heaving my trailer over to a silent corner of the courtyard, where it appeared to be safe to get Ivy out. I pulled my large bag out of the trailer, and slung my rucksack over my shoulder, before ditching the trailer, Ivy padded behind me as I followed a servant behind the castle. I had to keep my eye on the right side of me, through the small gaps in the bricks so that I could watch Sansa as she was led to our corridors of rooms. I walked up some outdoor steps and climbed onto a balcony, which by my calculation, was the balcony to my new room. I helped Ivy jump over the wall, and opened the door. Sure enough, the room had no one else in, and a letter waiting on the desk. 

"The room of Willow Stark." It read. I smiled. The room was larger than my room back at Winterfell. It had beautiful decorative Ivy on the walls, and flowers in plant pots. There was a bookshelf full of books, and a huge bed. It was beautiful. I unpacked my stuff before getting into a new change of clothes. I decided to put on a clean dress and finally let my hair fall down to my waist. After I had got comfortable, and checked if the gap underneath the bed was big enough to hide a direwolf, I walked over to the bookshelf. It was huge. I ran my fingers across the ancient texts, until I stopped at a book that had caught my eye. I pulled it out and looked at the cover. 

"The Tribes from Beyond The Wall." I had always wanted to see what was beyond the wall, and maybe if I ever met anyone out there, it would be good to know how to speak to them. I already knew from previous books that there were many tribes outside of the wall, but they leading one were the Wildlings. All of the tribes were ruled by The King Beyond the Wall. He must have had a heavy job making sure that none of the hundreds of tribes faught. I opened the book and began to read it as I sat down on the huge bed, making sure that Ivy was fast asleep underneath. 

My thoughts were disrupted when I remembered something I had to do. I quickly grabbed a piece of paper and some ink, and began to write a letter to Jon at Castle Black. I explained what had happened on the road, and to Sansa. I couldn't be too obvious as it was likely that the letter would get read before it was sent so I didn't say any opinions. Instead I turned to where he was, and asked how he was doing. I finished the letter and addressed it to Jon, knowing that it would take weeks to reply. I got up and opened my door, but jumped back when I saw the Hound standing outside my door. 

"What the fuck?" He said in reply. He hadn't seen me enter because I had climbed over the balcony. 

"What are you doing there?" I asked him, as I watched him lean against the wall on the other side of the corridor. He stared at me, a hint of confusion in his eyes. 

"I have been assigned to guard your corridor for today. How did you get in there?" He asked me. 

"I wanted to take the more scenic route." I explained, trying to sound as convincing as possible. He eyed me suspiciously before quickly losing interest. 

"I need to post this letter. Do you know where I go to do that?" I asked him. 

"How the fuck should I know?" He replied, in his gruff voice. 

"Well, you do live here." I replied, in a quiet voice, partly hoping that he didn't hear me, but he did, and he glared at me. His half burned face glinting in the sunlight. He wasn't as scary to look at people had said, but he was a little bit menacing when he glared, after all he was taller than any man I had ever met. 

Suddenly, I realized something, no matter what how much I annoyed him, he couldn't do anything about it because I was the Hand of the Kings daughter. It was an evil thought, so I didn't plan on annoying, maybe just a little. 

I sat down on the floor, with my legs crossed and leaned against my bedroom door. He looked at me carefully, confused as to what I was doing. 

"What did you think of Winterfell?" I asked him. 

"Shit." He replied, not looking at me.

"Well thats a bit rude. I think its better than this place." I laughed, looking around. Sure, it was a beautiful building, but it would never feel like home. 

Soon enough, half an hour had passed of me having a one-sided conversation with the Hound. I had started to talking about more personal things because I knew that he had tuned me out a while ago. 

"You know Prince Joffrey? Sansa looooves him. I don't. But he has to choose between the two of us, and I feel like after what happened on the road, he doesn't like Sansa anymore. It would kill her if he chose me. But I don't even like him that much." I sighed. Suddenly, the Hound looked at me. Maybe he had been listening. 

"You know that the Prince does't choose? Its the Queen. She does everything for him." I knew that he couldn't speak his thoughts, but it wasn't hard to see that he also didn't like the royals. 

"What does she base things on?" I asked him, now actually concerned about it. 

"How likely you are to carry the Prince's children, bring more blonde haired fucks into the world, all of that shit." He explained in a quiet voice, so that no one walking past would hear, he looked away again, zoning me out. I looked to the ground, he had a point. I got to my feet, and heard a sigh of relief from The Hound, I scowled at him jokingly before walking down the hall to Sansa's room.

I knocked on the wooden door, it had a trail of ivy going across it. It opened slightly, and when Sansa saw that it was me, she let me in. Her room was identical to mine, except she had brought way more clothes than me so her drawers were overflowing. "Did you bring your entire wardrobe?" I laughed, but I could tell she wasn't in the mood for joking. I sat down on her bed with her, and looked her in the eyes. 

"Sansa, I was talking to the Hound. He says that the Queen tells Joffrey who to marry. And she chooses based on who is more developed. So when you bleed, you have to make it known, ok? And I will say that I bled after." I explained, it was strange explaining this kind of thing, because it was quite personal but it was ok because she was my sister. She nodded in understanding. She looked to the ground. 

"Do you still have Ivy?" She asked me, not moving her eyes from the ground. 

"I let her go, just like Nymeria." I explained, as much as I trusted my twin, I couldn't risk Ivy's life, afterall, I wasn't sure anymore on how far Sansa would go to win Joffrey. She nodded. "I'm so sorry, Sansa. Lady didn't deserve that." I whispered, and hugged her. 

The door opened, and my father entered. Sansa hadn't spoken to him for two weeks. I saw the look in fathers eyes and left them alone. 

I hadn't seen in Arya in a while, and it was a huge castle, nerves started to set in. I ran past the Hound, and through hall after hall. I had no idea where I was, until finally, I came to a room, that had a huge space in the middle and overlooked the ocean. Arya stood with a wooden sword, and a man. He had dark curly hair and a wise expression on his face. 

"Willow! Father got me lessons!" Arya exclaimed with happiness. I laughed, she had wanted lessons ever since she knew what a sword was. I was happy for her. I didn't want to take her lesson time away from her so I made my way back to my room. I closed the door behind me and peeked my head under the bed. Ivy looked at me with big green eyes and I stroked the top of her head. 

"We'll go for a walk when it's dark." I reassured her, feeding her a piece of meat from the box in my rucksack. I checked if the knife was still there, and decided that it would be safer if it was with me. I had boots on, so I slid it, still in its cloth so that it was safe, deep into the side of my boot so that nobody could see it and so that it was comfortable to walk. I searched around my bag for the bow. I found it, under some clothes. It was so beautiful, I realized that I hadn't named it yet. 

Pulling the string back, I closed my eyes, waiting for a name to come to me. And suddenly, it did. 

Snowflake. 


	7. Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious letter arrives from Winterfell.

7- Letters

Today was the day that any letters addressed to us arrived. I waited excitedly outside my door, watching hopefully as people walked past. 

Finally, a man walked over, he looked malnourished and tired but he handed me a letter. "You are a Stark, right?" He asked, in a quiet voice. I nodded and he gave me another piece of paper, it was a small one, he quickly turned and left as fast as he had arrived. I frowned and went into my room. 

I had eased the secrecy on Ivy, because I knew that it was uncomfortable for her to keep staying under the bed, so I let her roam around the room free, but I made sure that I locked the bedroom door behind me. I sat on the bed and Ivy jumped up next to me, making the whole bed shake, I smiled, ruffling her fur before turning to the letters. 

I opened the big one first and noticed the Stark sigil on the top of the letter. It had been sent from Winterfell. I recognized Robb's messy handwriting. 

"Willow, I hope you are enjoying your new _dress_ that I gave you." I knew that he meant Snowflake, my bow, but he didn't want to risk it getting taken from me. "I have sent another letter to go with this one, to say the things that are sensitive to people outside our family. That letter will be sent from someone directly from Winterfell, so please be nice, they would have had a long journey." I thought about the tired looking man. "Maester Luwin says that Bran will never walk again. I heard about Arya and Sansa's direwolves. Give my best to them. Robb." It ended. I looked at the other letter, it was smaller. 

"Mother says Bran was pushed from the tower. She found blonde hair. Thinks it was the Lannisters. Jaime and Cersei. Someone was sent to kill Bran when he was sleeping, they failed. Someone is trying to kill him. Mother has taken Tyrion Lannister captive. A lot of things is about to happen, Willow. Stay safe. Look after Ivy. Keep your bow close. Winter is coming." The letter ended abruptly. It sent chills up my spine. Why was someone trying to kill Bran? He was an innocent child. Unless, he had seen something. And if mother had found blonde hair in the tower. Bran could have seen something to do with the Lannisters. What were they hiding? 

I was pulled out of my thoughts when a hurried knock rapped onto my door, opened it slightly, just enough so that Ivy could not be seen. It was Septa Mordane. "Willow! You are late for breakfast. Hurry!" She rushed, before hurrying back down the hall. I kissed Ivy on the head, and hid the letter in my backpack, before locking the door behind me. There was no one guarding the Starks hall anymore, as we were trusted enough to not wreak havoc in Kings Landing. 

I reached the small room, that overlooked the ocean. It had a round table in the middle, filled with all sorts of food that I had never seen before. Arya and Sansa sat with the Septa. Sansa was eating something quietly, whereas Arya had a small dagger and was stabbing the table aggresively. I sat down next to Sansa, and looked at Arya. 

"Arya! Stop that!" Septa Mordane scolded. Arya continued. She had always been defiant of the rules at Winterfell.

"What are you doing?" Sansa hissed. 

"Practicing." Arya replied, bluntly, with obvious aggression in her voice.

"For what?" I asked, watching as each time she brought down the dagger, more dents were created in the table. 

"For when I kill Joffrey." Sansa stopped what she was doing. 

"Arya Stark!" Septa gasped.

"He's a liar and a coward! And he killed my friend." Arya replied, angrily. What? He had killed the butchers boy? 

"The Hound killed your friend." Sansa told Arya, somehow still defending Joffrey. 

"The Hound does whatever Joffrey tells him to do." Arya hissed back. 

"You're an idiot!" Sansa shouted at Arya. They had never got along, but this time it was different. 

"You are a liar! And if you told the truth Mika would be alive." Arya shouted back, stabbing the dagger with one last blow to the table. 

"Enough!" Septa Mordane said to them both, angrily. 

"The butchers boy? He was killed?" I asked, confused. Sansa nodded. I sighed and looked out over the ocean, I was beginning to see how corrupt the royals were. 

Suddenly, father strode into the room, just as Septa was getting Arya to be sent off to her room. 

"Arya, would you like to tell your father what you were doing?" Septa asked, you could tell it wasn't a question, more of a command. But when Arya didn't say anything, Septa explained, "Arya would rather act like a beast than a lady." 

"Go to your room." Father nodded to the hall. Arya sighed exasperated, before stomping off. I got up, I wasn't feeling hungry anymore. Father sat down in Arya's place, and looked over at Sansa and I. 

When no one spoke, I sighed. "I got a letter from Robb. Here." I gave the shorter letter to father, being careful not to read it aloud as there were guards lined up along the walls of the room. 

"I got one too." Father replied. "We'll talk about it later." He told me, I nodded, before leaving the room. I knew that Sansa had forgiven father just about, but what was concerning was that she had already forgiven Joffrey. 

I hadn't ventured that far in the past few days, so I started to walk around the castle looking around, until finally I entered a huge room, it had massive glass windows, and a cold stone floor. Serious looking Kings guards were lined up along the wall, but other than them, the room looked empty. I looked up to see there was an upstairs type gallery, and some seats downstairs too. But gasped when I saw what was at the head of the room. 

The Iron Throne. It was much better in person, than what I had read in the books. It was made out of old swords and daggers, and was black. It looked uncomfortable to sit on, but other than that, it was magnificent. 

"That will be mine one day." Joffrey's voice made me grimace, but I smiled when he looked at me. We had hardly talked, but sadly, I knew that was going to change now.

"My prince." I curtsied, just like I had been taught. I had my hair down and wore a dress that had the Stark sigil. I was a child of the long summer. That meant that I hadn't been in the proper winter, when it was cold and starving like the old tales, when my father was young. But I could feel something coming, winter. It was growing cold, even in the capital, where the sun shone as bright as the moon. 

"How is your sister?" Joffrey asked, he was still looking at the throne in wonder, and I knew that these were just pleasantries taught to him by his mother to make allies. The truth is, I had better things to do than talk to him, like continue my learning of the languages beyond the wall. I had almost finished that book, but I new that I was going to have to read it again in order to keep the words fresh in my mind. 

"She's feeling better. How is your arm?" Was that too far? I hadn't meant in a spiteful, just trying to make conversation. 

"Oh. It's healed. I barely notice it." He replied, a hint of anger in his voice. I nodded, unsure of what to say in reply. He looked at me, his blue eyes looking directly at mine. 

"Be careful, Stark. This isn't your home. I'm in charge." He said, as menacingly as he could. It was such a random thing to say, as I had done absolutely nothing to wrong him. I had to stop myself from bursting out laughing at the thought of him even trying to hurt me in a battle. He walked off angrily. I sighed and turned around. The Hound was staring at me. An idea popped into my head.

"Will you take me outside of the castle?" I asked him. 

"Why the fuck would I do that?" He replied, in his deep angry voice. 

"My father said that I could visit the market outside. But I need to take someone with me, to protect me." I lied. I had always been good at lying. Theon had taught me. 

The Hound eyed me suspiciously. "You didn't answer my question. Get someone else to be your babysitter." He growled, before walking off. I sighed and looked around, there were many guards. I hadn't tried to talk to any yet. I walked over to one. 

"Hello. I was wondering if you would take me out to the market." I asked one of them. They stayed silent and looked ahead, showing no sign that they had heard me. "Fine." I replied. I walked over to the huge doors that led out of the castle, and heaved one of them open. "Tell my father that I will be back before dinner, if he asks." I spoke to the hall. My voice echoing, ricocheting off the walls, the guards replied with more silence. 

I exited the castle, and instantly the sounds of the busy crowd of people in the markets below hit me, along with the fresh air and the smell of the sea. 

It was beautiful. 


	8. The Market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willow goes outside of the castle for the first time.

8- The Market

I ran down the steps of the castle, and out of the huge courtyard, into the busy streets. I had never been in an atmosphere like this before. There were so many people, going on for miles ahead. I stayed with the castle on my right shoulder, so that I knew where to go. I must have looked like a princess, as people were staring at me with strange looks on their faces. I couldn't tell what.

It suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't brought any money with me. With a sigh, I turned back to the castle. Except, there was no castle. Just people. So many people. I must have walked further into the crowd of people in my daze at the new environment. It felt unsafe, and I could feel my pulse beginning to quicken. 

I quickly realized that I hated crowds, as I was being pushed further and further away from the castle, by a sea of busy people, trying to get on with their daily chores. I pushed past people, tears in my eyes as I struggled to push through the sea of people coming at me from the opposite direction. Suddenly hands grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into a building. The building was filled with smell of burning incense and a strange sound. I couldn't quite put my mind on what the noise was. I looked to see who had grabbed me.

A man with blue eyes and dark hair stood staring at me, interested. He wore a patterned fabric tunic, that was tight fitting, showing he had a slim build. He wore dark pants and boots. He looked suspicious. "A Stark." He smiled. His voice was low, but when he spoke, the words came tumbling out, as if he was in a hurry. 

"Can I help you?" I asked, confused as to why this strange man had pulled me into a building like this. 

He laughed. "You don't recognize me? I am Petyr Baelish. You might know me as Littlefinger." He explained. I heard his name before. Back at Winterfell, my mother spoke with my father about him at times. I remembered a story that my mother had once told me. About how he had tried fight my father for my mother, but failed. I wasn't expecting him to look like this. 

"I have heard of you. My mother told me about you when I was younger." I explained, still unsure why I was there. "Can you help me get back to the castle?" I asked. 

"Of course. Afterall, you are a Stark. You don't look like your mother, unlike your sister, Sansa. You look more like your father." He seemed strangely interested in my family. His eyes looking at me with even more interest. 

"Look, I just want to get back to the castle." I sighed, trying to turn away. 

"I will show you the way." He smiled, a sinister smile. He was making very uneasy, but I didn't know why. 

"I know who you are. And what you are like." It all came flooding back to me. Littlefinger was known for being a slimy man. You could never trust him. 

"Ah, do I live up to what they say about me?" He asked, still with the same smile. 

"I don't really know you in person yet." I explained, still trying to be nice, even though I knew what this shady man was capable of. He had a lot of knowledge of everything. 

"How's Ivy?" He asked. I looked at him with shock. Did he know that my wolf was in the castle? How? 

Using what knowledge I had, I picked up a nearby cutlery knife and slit a small cut in my finger, allowing a small amount of blood, and smearing it on my sleeve slightly. "If you say anything about that wolf, I'll say that you are lying, and that you attacked me." I replied, with anger in my voice. He laughed. 

"You have your mothers personality. Interesting. Best get you back to the castle." He smiled, creepily, before helping me back to the royal castle. I didn't say a single word to him as I ran up the halls and away from the creepy man, I didn't see my father as I came bounding round a corner.

I ran into my father directly. "Woah!" He gasped. 

"Sorry, father!" I exclaimed. I hadn't hurt him, and I wasn't hurt either. 

"Where have you been?" He asked, looking at me for any sign of injury. 

"I just went into the market to see what they sold. That's all." I explained, hoping to the gods that he wouldn't get mad. 

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is out there? You could have been kidnapped, or worse!" He sighed. Father hardly ever got angry, and I knew he wasn't angry now, just worried. He had rings under his eyes, to show how hard he was working. The King was usually out hunting or at brothels. So my father was basically running the entirety of Westeros. "Anyway, you need to get ready, the King has ordered for a jousting tournament to be held. And we need to attend." Father explained. 

"Jousting?" 


	9. Summer's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willow attends a jousting tournament, but what news will arrive at Kings Landing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The real action is about to begin :)))) (so this means a lot more 'graphicness' haha)

9- Summer's End

I sat down with my family in the stands. But to my dismay, Petyr Baelish was sitting on my right hand side. He had to sit near the Hand of the King because he was the King's treasurer. Sansa sat on the other side of me. 

I didn't know much about jousting so I didn't plan on paying that much attention. But when I saw the Mountain, all of my attention was there. The Mountain was the biggest man I had ever seen. He looked like he was at least 7 feet tall, and he wore a helmet over his face. Come to think of it, I had never seen his face, but I heard he looked scarier than his brother the Hound. I felt bad for the horse he was riding on, but also whoever he was jousting against. 

The man that Mountain was up against, came riding, smiling at us. I had never seen him before, but he was very handsome. He had well-looked after blonde hair and charming blue eyes. Except he didn't look like a Lannister. "Who's that?" I asked, as the man stopped on his horse, and gave a rose to Sansa, making her blush, I didn't know where Joffrey was, but I knew that somewhere he would be bubbling with jealousy. 

"That is Ser Loras Tyrell. Brother of Lady Margaery Tyrell. He is a well-esteemed Knight. Famous for his wins at tournaments." Littlefinger explained to me. I didn't want to question how he knew that much about him, I just nodded in understanding. 

This was going to end violently. I could feel it. The crowd went silent, as the tensions began to rise. Loras Tyrell pulled down his helmet and the two fighters started to ride across the land, getting ready to fight. I wasn't going to look away, when they finally collided. 

The horses rode faster and faster until finally, there was a collision, I felt Sansa brace herself next to me. The Mountains lance completely destroyed Loras Tyrell's shield, leaving him defenseless. I knew what was going to come next. The next time the jousters collided, Loras' horse was hit on the head with the lance, knocking it to the floor and lying motionless. I hated it when animals got hurt, but I told myself I wouldn't look away, so I watched as Loras fell to the ground defenseless as The Mountain got off his horse, aggresively and rounded on the knight. Even me, who didn't know this game at all, knew that it was against the rules to get off your horse voluntarily to kill the other opponent. 

Suddenly, just as the Mountain was about to kill Loras, the Hound held a sword to his brothers throat, through the gap in the Mountains armour. There was no way that the Mountain had the mobility and fleixibility to spin around and disarm the Hound, so he had to give up. He shouted a range of expletives in a deep booming voice before storming off, knowing that he had gotten carried away and lost the game. There were claps from the crowds of people, as if they had just watched a play rather than a man almost die, and a horse get a fatal brain injury. People clapped around me, and I looked in awe at their culture. It was so violent and uncalled for. Interesting. 

Ser Loras Tyrell lifted the Hounds arm up as if he had one, and thanked him for saving his life. There were a few more rounds to go, but I had already had enough and turned to father behind me. "Father, can I leave?" I asked him. He looked at Sansa and Arya, who were also either bored, or looking a little bit rattled. He nodded.

"Be quiet about it though. The King won't take kindly to the fact that people left one of his events." Father explained, I nodded and while the attention was on the next jousting tournament, my siblings and I slid away and back to the castle.

\---

I sat on my bed, one hand stroking Ivy, and the other holding the book of languages from beyond the wall. I was reading it for a second time, and by that time I had a basic understanding of the languages. My attention was ripped away from the book as someone tried to get into my room, making Ivy jump off the bed, and hide under it, just like I had taught her. I ran over to the door and unlocked. Arya came running into my room, breathless. I closed the door behind her. "Arya, what's wrong?" I looked at her with concern. 

"I was following a cat, and I ran too far and got lost in the dungeons. I heard two men, I don't know their names, they were talking about someone overthrowing the throne!" She explained, her breath still trying to catch up. I gestured for her to sit down and take a breather while I let her words sink in. 

"There is something going on, Arya. It's not safe here. We have to go back to Winterfell. Someone tried to kill Bran, mother thinks it was the Lannisters. And if someone is trying to overthrow the throne then there will be a war. We have to leave." I explained, thinking out loud. I opened my door, slightly, looking for father. "Arya, go to your room and pack as little as you can. Meet me back here in half an hour." I told her, and watched as she ran down the hall and into her room. I ran out of my room and looked around for father. Where was he? It was getting late, he should have been back from the tournament by now. 

I looked through hall after hall, until finally, I took a break, by leaning against a window. It overlooked the busy market below. Suddenly, my eye caught the familiar shine of the kings guards. They were circling two people, and a third person stood inside the circle, holding a sword to the other two. I looked a little closer and gasped. Two of the people were my father and his second, Jory Cassel. The man that was holding a sword to my father, was none other than Jaime Lannister. What was happening? I watched in horror as Jory Cassel was murdered, a sword through the throat. My father tried to put up a fight, and he was doing well against the Lannister, until a guard stook a huge sword into the back of my fathers leg. I let out an audible gasp and sprinted to my room, locking the door behind me. I slid down onto the floor, and started hyperventilating. It was too much. Everything was happening at once. Ivy nudged my arm, calming me down, and I stroked her fur, before climbing to my feet. 

Before I had time to pack any bags or change there was a hurried knock on my door, I opened it slightly to reveal the Hound. "I was sent to tell you to go to your fathers room. Its urgent." He explained, in a low voice. I nodded and slid out of the door, locking it behind me so that no dangerous person could get in. I ran down the hall and burst into my fathers room. He looked ill. He must have just arrived, and there was still someone working on his leg. He had sweat dripping off his face, and he had ghostly white skin. 

"Are you going to die?" I whispered, standing beside him. He laughed, weakly. 

"No, flower. I am not dying, it is just a wound." He explained. I remained serious.

"I saw what happened." I told him, I didn't know I could sound so serious. It was unsettling. He looked at me with grave eyes. 

"You can't tell anyone. You and your sisters are already in danger." He turned to the only other person in the room, the person dressing my fathers room. "Could you give us a minture?" He asked, the person knew it was a command, and quickly left. Closing the door behind them. I knelt down beside father. "Joffrey is not a Baratheon. He's a Lannister." Father explained. He didn't have to say anything else. It all came flooding to me. 

"Oh gods. Jaime and Cersei? The rumours are true? And Jaime knows that you know, thats why he... and Bran saw them in the tower together, he was pushed because they didn't want their secret getting out. And mother has taken Tyrion hostage because she thinks that he sent someone to kill Bran when it was really either Jaime or Cersei. The Lannisters." I gasped. 

"Clever girl." My father smiled. How could he smile at a time like this. 

"We aren't safe here, are we?" I asked, father had never lied to me. I could trust that this time, he wouldn't lie either. 

"No, Willow. We aren't safe here." 


	10. Crowns and Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The king is fatally wounded. What will this mean for the Starks?

10- Crowns and Chaos

It had been a couple of days since father had been injured. Nobody had shown any sign of knowing how it happened, including Jaime Lannister when I walked past him every now and then. I scowled at him when he couldn't see me, staring daggers into the back of his head. My father was back on his feet, but the King was the opposite. He had been on a hunting trip and something had gone wrong. A wild boar had wounded him in the abdomen, and he lay in his huge bed, talking to my father. 

I watched through a small window. I wasn't as tense as I should have been, but that was only the case because I knew what was going to happen, and it was mainly the unknown that scared me. 

I knew what was going to happen. Joffrey was going to become King, and the Lannisters would be in power. They had always hated the Starks and now they had more reasons to hate us. They would abuse their powers in ways that I tried not to think about. Sansa and Arya had already packed, I had yet to pack an emergency bag, that thought dawning on me was what brought me to my feet. 

I rushed through the now eerie halls of Kings Landing, as I felt guards eyes follow me until I was safely hidden away behind the safety of my locked door. Ivy looked tense too, and I ruffled her fur, giving her a piece of meat that I had stolen from the kitchen. I had refilled the small box I carried for her, with as much meat as she could possibly need for a week. After that ran out, I would have to find something else to feed her. 

I picked up my rucksack, and took out the dagger from my boots that lay on the floor messily. I put the dagger on my bed, it would be the last thing I would put in the bag. I put in one set of clean clothes, a shirt and tight trousers, to wear when travelling. I packed the boots too. I put the Languages from Beyond the Wall book in my bag, the letters from Robb, and some extra arrows in the bag, I also put some snacks I had also stolen from the kitchens along with Ivy's box. I would have to carry my bow and arrows on my back, like a proper warrior. I put the dagger at the top of the rucksack and closed the bag, sliding it safely under my bed for when I needed to leave in a hurry. 

Someone knocked on my door, and I opened it to reveal Sansa, Arya and my father. They piled into my room, not giving Ivy enough chance to get under my bed. Sansa gasped, and father sighed. "Willow!" He whispered, exasperated, closing the door behind him. 

"What are you all doing in my room?" I asked, slightly angry that they had just barged in here. 

"Why did you lie to me about Ivy?" Sansa asked, looking at my direwolf with big sad eyes. I didn't have time to answer, father had already started speaking. 

"As you know, your mother has Tyrion Lannister captive. The Lannisters know this and they are going to war. Your brother is ready to fight, but they aren't going to fight just yet, we still have time. They are trying to negotiate. But we can't risk it. You three are going to ride to the Eeryie, where it is safe. Rickon and Bran will be riding out with Theon at the same time as you. Your mother and I will see you there, with Robb." Father explained. 

"I'm not leaving Kings Landing." Sansa said, with a note of sureness in her voice that was actually quite menacing. "I am going to marry King Joffrey." She told father. By her tone, there was no doubt that that was what she was going to do. Father sighed.

"It's not safe, Sansa." He explained.

"I don't care! He loves me. He will protect me." She replied. She was delusional, her childlish love for Joffrey was clouding her rational judgement. She wasn't stupid, but I couldn't see what she saw in that boy at all. 

"Fine. Sansa, you can stay with me. Willow, take Arya." Father sighed. I nodded, but Arya apparently didn't want to go back either. 

"I want to carry on with my sword fighting lessons!" She told father. 

"You can do that at the Eerie." Father replied. Arya sighed. "Girls, go to your rooms, we have one more night here, ok?" He told us, before leaving the room. I watched as Arya scurried out, but put a hand on Sansa's arm, she turned to me. 

"Sansa, come with us. There's nothing that he can do to protect. I know that it may look like he is the King, but it's Cersei. She controls everything he says and does." I whispered, I couldn't let my sister stay in such a dangerous place. I would forever blame myself if anything happened to her. 

"I am strong, Willow. I know how to protect myself, I will be his Queen, and I will have more power than Cersei, trust me." She smiled, before pulling away and leaving my room swiftly. She didn't know what she was getting into, but there was no talking her out of it. I let out a shout of anger, before collapsing onto my bed. 

I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on my door, it didn't feel right. I looked up to see that it was still night time, the moon shone brightly through the stained glass from the balcony. I walked over to my door, rubbing my eyes tiredly. It was Sansa. 

"Willow, you have to go! Now! They have taken father captive." She had tears in his voice, it was too dark to see, but I knew that she would have tears on her cheeks too. 

"What did he do?" I asked, a lump forming in my throat. I was now fully awake. 

"I'm not sure, but they are saying it was treason against the throne." She whispered. 

It was the Lannisters. They couldn't risk their precious little secret getting out to the world. "Sansa, please come with me, I beg you." I whispered, I needed her to come with me. She was my twin, if I lost her... the world would be empty. She hugged me tightly. 

"I love you, Willow. But I will be ok. We'll see other again." She replied, I cried into her shoulder, occasionally my sobs became audible and we broke apart in fear of waking someone up. She looked at me one more time before hurrying down the hall into darkness. I pushed the door closed, and lit a candle, before putting on the travelling clothes I had packed earlier on. I ripped off the stark sigil from my dresses and tucked it into the bag, I needed something that reminded me of home. I put tied the rucksack tightly, and made sure my laces on the boots were tight too. I tucked the dagger into my belt, and slung the bag on my back, before picking my bow, Snowflake, up and attatching it to the back of my bag. I slung the arrow holder over my shoulder, and made sure that Ivy was ready to go. I took one last look over at my room, before opening my bedroom door.

Someones hand pushed me back into the room, making my heart pound through my chest, until my eyes adjusted some more and I saw the Hound's scary face, his brown eyes shimmering in the light. "Don't turn me in, please." I begged him. He looked at me carefully before sighing. 

"Fine. Your little sister is nowhere to be seen. The guards are awake." He nodded outside, and I noticed that the sun had started to rise. "You better get going." He told me. I got to my feet and headed to the balcony, before turning back once more. 

"Will you take care of Sansa?" I asked him. He nodded. 

"Thank you, Sandor." I smiled at him, weakly, before hopping off the balcony, and helping Ivy jump off the balcony. We ran down the outdoor steps and out of the castle gates as quickly as we could. It felt like I was leaving part of my heart behind with my father and sister. But where was Arya? I checked in the stable where my horse still was. I couldn't take her, Ivy was too big now. She was a full sized direwolf. But I wasn't going to let my horse stay with the Lannisters, plus I had hidden extra food and arrows in her saddle. I pulled her out of the stable, and walked around some houses. 

I was on the run. 


	11. Slimy Sources

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willow is taken captive by an unlikely person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are enjoying the story so far, I just wanted to say that I estimate there to be about 2-3 more chapters in this season. Happy reading :)

11- Slimy Sources

I hadn't got very far when someone grabbed me by the shoulder and into the garden of a relatively large building. I turned around to see Petyr Baelish, with his creepy smile looking at me again. "Let me go." I hissed. He laughed, tying my horse to the fence, before dodging around my direwolf, and leading me into the building. 

"You aren't safe out there by yourself. You will either get killed or starve." He replied. 

"You don't know me. I could have the best survival skills out of anyone." I told him, with a hint of anger. I realized that we were back in the building from the market. "I really need to get going." I turned to the door again, but realized he had locked it. "You son of a bitch." I was about to pull my dagger out when he raised his hands, as if he was surrendering. 

"Please, it's for your own good. You are much safer here." He replied, in a calm voice. I suddenly realized, when I listened closely to the sounds coming from up some stone steps, what this building was, fueling me with anger again. 

"You sick man." I shouted. "I am thirteen years old. Almost fourteen. Ok, now I really need to go." I reached for the dagger again, and Ivy began to growl at him menacingly. 

"I didn't mean anything by the choice of venue. No one will look for you here, and I will make sure to keep you away from their work." He gestured to the moans coming from up the steps. I sighed, he did have a point when he said that it wasn't safe outside. He knew that he had won, when I sat down on a nearby chair. 

"Thats a good girl." He sneered. 

"Don't push it." I muttered, stroking Ivy's fur. 

I should have escaped right then and there, if I knew what that man was going to do. 

\---

He had shown me to a room on the ground floor of the building. It was small, and had a pillow on the floor. That was it in terms of furniture. I turned around to object, but he had already locked the door. I banged on the door loudly, and he appeared at the window of the door. 

"Lesson one. Don't trust anyone. Automatically assume that they are out for personal gain." He smiled a smug smile, before hurrying off towards the castle. I whispered a number of expletives as his shadow disappeared. Ivy whimpered next to me. 

"I know, Ivy. It's ok. We'll get payback." I reassured her. Sitting on the pillow and leaning against the wall. If Ivy wasn't there, I probably would have caved in from the loneliness, but she nuzzled her head into my hand. She definitely weighed more than me by now, and she was just about the same height as me. She was huge. 

I find that a good way to pass the time was listen to the people outsides conversation as they got on with their day. A lot of them spoke about money and taxes. But one conversation in particular caught my attention. 

"Did you hear, the hand of the king was taken hostage?" One voice asked. 

"Yeah, I heard that. Never thought a loyal man like Petyr Baelish would turn on his own councilmen like that." The other replied. 

"The things people do for royals." The first voice sighed. I slid to the floor, a rage boiling deep in my stomach. That slimy bastard was the shit that had got my father captured. I was going to give him hell when he got back, and soon enough, he returned. By the look on my face, he could tell that I knew.

"You slimy fucker." I growled. Ivy growled next to me. From his point of view, it was quite clever of him to lock me in that room. He looked at me with a frown.

"Didn't you listen to my words? Never trust anyone. Always assume they are out for personal gain. Oh, and lesson two, always make sure that you have sources that are reliable." He smiled, before hurrying off up the steps of the building. I knew that he had only said that to make me uneasy about whether or not the people outside were actual real commoners or paid to say those things to change my mind, but he had created an idea in my mind. He was going to get what was coming to him. Eventually. 

\---

I was so worried about Sansa that it made me want to throw up. My father was going to protect her with every strength he had, I knew that, but would that be enough? I was also worried about Arya, she was only 11. Alone. It wasn't good. 

Someone came rushing from the steps from upstairs. I saw many people come and go, and they brought me food and drink when they could. They were growing fond of me, most of the people were women, and I just knew how to act cute and young. Even if I was only thirteen and 364 days old. That night I would turn 14, but I was the only one that knew that, other than Sansa. 

It was one of the women, she had a sad look on her face. She wasn't supposed to talk to me, and I knew that Littlefinger would get mad if he found out, so I knew it was something important, I got to my feet and looked at her through the window in the room door. I refused to think of it as a cell, because that would just depress me. 

"Your father... he's been sentenced to death." 


	12. A Sorrowful Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the Season 1 finale, secrets are discovered, and lives are lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its the finale! Woo thank you for reading my first season, the second season will follow soon, thank you so much for reading :)

12- A Sorrowful Life

Tears filled in my eyes. I should have felt sadness, but all I felt was determination. And rage. But I used the tears to my advantage. 

I looked at the woman, my big green eyes crying. "Please, you have to let me out, I have to see my father. Please, I'm begging you, I'm only thirteen." I begged, my voice quivering from the tears, I watched with secret smugness as the woman picked the lock, a trick she had learned from one of the various men that had visited. I had spoken to these women so much, because Littlefinger had told me to get some reliable sources. I was looking forward to seeing his face when he found out I used his own skills against him. The door swung open, and I hugged the woman, thankful to finally be out. I picked up my bags, woke up Ivy, and made sure that my bow was held tightly. The woman handed me a cloak with a hood. 

"You'll need this to get through the crowd." She smiled a pity smile. I bowed my head thankfully, before putting on the cloak, and pulling up the hood. I tied Ivy to where my horse still stood. "I have to go and see my father. I will be back, I promise." I kissed her fur, before disappearing into the crowd. I clutched onto the dagger in my belt tightly, as I pushed through the crowd and into the courtyard. 

I couldn't even gasp when I saw why there were crowds in the courtyard. A stage had been set up, a wooden holder in the middle with a basket in front of it. I climbed up a statue in the corner of the busy courtyard to see better, just as Queen Cersei walked on to the stage, followed by the now King Joffrey, and then... my sister Sansa. She had red eyes, as if she had been crying a lot. And she looked weak. It was taking all of my courage not to go up there and hug her. I gasped when my father stumbled onto the stage, pushed by a guard. His head was pushed into the holder, and I now realized what the basket was for when a tall man wearing a mask and holding a huge axe came onto the stage. My father was going to be beheaded. I couldn't let this happen. 

"Ned Stark, you have been sentenced to death for treason. Betraying the crown." Another man read from a piece of paper. Tears stung at my eyes. It was taking all of my strength not to run up to that stage and pull my father up to his feet. "Do you have any last words?" I saw my fathers mouth move, but I couldn't hear what he said over the roaring of the crowd. "I love you." I whispered to him, praying to the gods that somehow, by some kind of magic that he heard me before, suddenly, just like that, the axe was brought down. It all happened so fast. I watched as my fathers headless corpse fell to the floor of the stage, Sansa fainted, and was caught by the Hound. I fell off the statue and painfully onto the stone floor. I stumbled to my feet and through the crowd, down the side of the buildings, refusing to let what happen sink. I tied my horses saddle to some rope and tied the rope to my wrist before letting Ivy run free. Everyone seemed to be at the... execution still so it was the perfect time for an escape. I looked around for a trailer, and luckily, there was an old rickety one, that looked like it would last at least a couple of hours holding a full direwolf. I attached it to my horse and helped Ivy into it before jumping onto the saddle and riding quickly through the near empty streets, my cloak flapping in the wind. I hit grass quickly, and before I knew it, Kings Landing was nothing but a speck in the distance. 

That was when the previous scenes finally hit me. I collapsed into heaps of sobs. My father was dead. His head... it had been cut off right in front me. And Sansa. They were going to abuse her, even kill her just like father, and it would be all my fault. I had to stop riding after a while to throw up from the crying, before getting back on the horse and carrying on. 

Finally, after what seemed like hours of crying, I wiped the tears away, and looked back at the rickety trailer, Ivy was looking at me with her big green eyes. I stopped the horse, and got off, it seemed safe enough to walk now, and so I helped Ivy out of the trailer and unattached the trailer from my horse, who neighed thankfully. I fed the horse a piece of apple, and Ivy a piece of meat, I had some of the apple, before giving the rest to the horse. I was going to walk all the way to Winterfell, it would probably take longer than a month, but I was determined. 

I was going home. 


	13. Scavenger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willow is on the road alone, she hasn't eaten in days, and the end of the journey is nowhere to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Season 2 will be shorter than the first season to get ready for the third season. Thank you for reading :)

1 (Season 2) - Scavenger

It had been two weeks since I had left Kings Landing. The nights had grown longer and darker, and there was an unusual frost hanging on the leaves. Maybe the starks old saying true. Maybe Winter truly was coming. 

I had other things to think about. Like how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten in days, and neither had Ivy. I had to sell my horse to a woman who could feed her better than I was doing, the money from the horse was enough for a weeks worth of food, but that food had run out quickly. I had been stopping every now and then when I saw traveler's inns. I didn't have enough money to buying anything so I had to resort to scavenging. Things that they would throw out, or things that they had accidentally left behind. No matter what it was, it wasn't enough to make me full. I longed for a full stomach, and a drink to wash it down. 

My legs ached, I had no idea if I was close to Winterfell or not. I should have been half way, but I hadn't seen many riders, that carried food or clothes from one city to another. I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. I wasn't good at map reading, and even if I was, I didn't have a map anyway. 

I had cut my hair, so that it was harder to recognize me, I had used a puddle to see my reflection. I had one side that was short, cut to the head, and the other side was shoulder length, to cover some of my face. It looked kind of stylish, but that's not what I was going for. 

I wore the same travelers clothes I had packed, what seemed like an eternity ago. It was smelly, and mud covered. I wore a cloak, always with the hood up, and had put mud on my face, I was hardly recognizable, apart from my bright green eyes. 

One of the few bonuses of scavenging near travelers inns was that you could hear other peoples stories from across Westeros. I had heard all sorts. Tyrion had escaped from my mother and was now Hand of the King to Joffrey. Robb was leading his own army against the Lannisters, and he had already won three victories, apparantly they had named him King in the North. Good for him, I thought to myself, smiling. 

On the odd occasion I heard that the "Kings guards are still looking for them Stark girls." I was in danger, but I felt more frightened by the lack of food than the fact that there were people looking for me, possibly to kill me I wasn't sure. I was worried about Sansa and Arya, I hadn't heard much about them. 

\----

I remember that father had told me to go to the Eerie, but I didn't want to. I needed to be with family, and Aunt Lysa was not the type of family that I wanted. I got to my feet, it was raining again. 

I had heard that Theon was heading to the Iron Islands. That meant that Bran was alone, with Rickon. I had to go home, someone needed to be there with them. 

I pushed myself mile after mile, Ivy was growing tired and I made sure that I used my bow and arrow to hunt. I hated that I had to kill animals for Ivy, but she was all I had left. I had to protect her. I knew how to make a fire, so I could roast the meat that I caught, but there would be no reason, as Ivy ate the meat raw, I didn't have the meat because Ivy needed it all. She was bigger than me, she had more to carry. I didn't mind that she ate more than me, it made me happy to see her healthy. At least someone wasn't starving to death. 

Whenever I felt like passing out and never waking up again, Ivy gave me a nudge to keep going. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have Ivy. Maybe I wouldn't be alive.

I was only barely alive even with her there. But I had to keep going. 

I had to get to my brothers. 


	14. Still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What will Willow have to do to survive by herself?

2 (Season 2) - Still

On the road, I didn't have a lot of company. So my mind often wandered. I wondered how Jon was doing. I couldn't send him any letters, so I had no way of communicating with him. One day I would go down to Castle Black and see him. 

I sat down on a patch of grass. It was night time and I was in the middle of a forest, but my legs felt like they were on fire, I must have walked another couple of miles at least. Ivy sat down patiently next to me and I ruffled her fur, she panted. I picked my bow up and pulled an arrow back, searching the forest trees close to me for an animal for her. But I stopped dead in my tracks when, through the trees, I saw some guards. They had a fire going and were eating something, laughing and sharing stories. I crept forward being careful not to make a sound.

"Everyone knows that both the Stark girls are dead by now. No home, no food. They were brought in fucking castles for gods sake, as if they will be able to survive by themselves. Spoiled brats deserve whatever they got." One of the guards shouted, the others howled with laughter. Fire boiled within me. I failed to see how anything of what the man had said was funny. I looked at their trailer, it was full of food and boxes. I had to get to it. It could provide me with enough food for at least a couple of weeks. 

I aimed my arrow at one of their heads. Could I do it? No matter how vile they were, they still had lives, families maybe. But I really needed that food. After all who knows what they would go onto do? Maybe kill someone innocent. I tried to clear my conscience, and waited for them to give me a good angle to shoot. I had never killed a human before. It would be a big step, it would be a big step backwards maybe, but it would still be something. 

After a while of waiting, they all got up, and that's when I saw it. The perfect angle, they were all lined up together. I needed to save arrows. I let out a breath and didn't let my mind have enough time to think about what I was doing before I released the string. I watched as it soared through the air, and straight their heads, coming out the other end and straight into a tree. They all fell, synchronized to the ground, lifeless. I ran over in horror. What had I done? I counted four dead bodies. Four men gone. But they had the Lannister symbol on their armor. That made it easier. I blinked away the tears forming in my eyes and climbed onto the trailer, there was food everywhere, it was amazing. Within a minute, I had already devoured an apple. I helped Ivy onto the trailer, and looked around in case someone was watching. I couldn't see anyone so I dove into the food head first. Within 10 minutes, I felt full. I laughed to Ivy, who looked at me with confused eyes. "I have eaten enough now, Ivy." I whispered, hugging her. Finally, I had a chance. I looked down at the bodies, with a frown. 

But I had to make do with what I done. I searched the bodies. They had sharp swords, in their own belts. One even had a knife. I already had a knife so I didn't take that, but I did take a sword, and replaced my own belt with the soldiers. I pushed the sword into it, and took the knife out of my boot, took the cloth off, and sure enough, it fit into the other side of the belt. The sword was surprisingly long enough for me. I had grown quite a lot in the past month. I was, by my estimate, at least five foot seven now. But I was still growing. The sword belonged to a man who looked the same weight and size as me. He was small, and had blue eyes, but I tore my eyes away from his, as to avoid the dead men, fighting with my conscience. 

Looking forward, I saw two horses, waiting calmly at the front of the trailer. It was perfect. I climbed out of the trailer, making sure that I had all of my arrows and bag safely on my back, and securing my bow on my back too. I made sure that Ivy was safe in the trailer and pulled up the safety wall at the back, before climbing onto the front of the trailer, getting the horses ready. I took one last look at the blood trail I had caused before riding through the trees and out of the forest onto the open fields again. 

Honestly, I was surprised that hill tribes had not found me yet. They were infamous amongst travelers, but I didn't dwell on what could happen, only what had happened. I was going to make it to Winterfell within a week at this rate. Things were finally looking up, I smiled to myself. 

"I'm coming, Bran. Just wait." 

\---

Two days later, I was beginning to look less and less malnourished. I had made some more arrows when the horses were resting. So I had lots more to carry on going. But every now and then I practiced with the sword and knife too. Ivy was a full-grown direwolf, so I knew that if anyone tried to kill me when I was asleep they would soon find themselves missing their throat. 

Suddenly, a noise came from the trees. I was passing through a small wood, and it was close to night time. I pulled an arrow back and aimed my bow out into the vast array of trees, I heard Ivy growling in the trailer. "Who's there?" I asked into the shadows. 

Nobody answered, but instead, a young boy ran from the trees, holding a sword that was way to big for him. He looked about elevn years old. I couldn't hurt him. I stopped Ivy, and dodged his attacks until he grew tired. He looked severely malnourished. "What's your name?" I asked. He frowned at me, a confused look on his face. 

"I know who you are." He replied. "You are Willow Stark of Winterfell. There are people looking for you. Dangerous people, if I killed you, and brought you to them, my family would be given money." He pointed the sword at my throat, but I pushed it to the ground with my hand, I got down to my knee and looked him in the eye. 

"In my trailer, I have lots of food. If I gave you some of the food, would you leave me and not tell anyone that I was here?" I whispered, he thought about it for a second. Before shaking his head. 

"Give me the entire trailer." He replied. I sighed. 

"What would you do with it? I assume you don't know how to ride a cart, or look after horses, and its not as if you are going to carry that trailer." I sighed, I knew what I was going to, but I wanted to see how much he wanted it. 

"I would make many journeys. My family doesn't live far from here. Please." His eyes grew large. 

"Fine. OK. Fine. Here." I gestured for him to follow me and opened the back of the trailer, he staggered backwards when he saw Ivy. "It's ok, she means no harm." I watched as Ivy jumped from the cart, and I picked up a bag of apples, before smiling at the boy. "For the road." I gestured to the bag of apples. He nodded. I ruffled his hair. "Enjoy the food." I told him before leaving. Maybe that was the wrong thing to do, but that boy and his family were going to have a good next two months with that food. I didn't feel worried for that road ahead. I would arrive at Winterfell in a couple of weeks on foot. When I ran out of food, I would just go back to scavenging and hunting. It was the way it had to be. 

But no matter what, I would make it home. 


	15. Last Leg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willow is on her last leg. Will she make it home in time?

3 (Season 2) - Last Leg

It had been a week since I had run out of food. I often wondered if I should have given the cart away, but I pushed those thoughts out of my mind. My legs were weak, I was burning more weight than I had, I dreaded to look, but when I looked at myself, I saw pure bone. I drank from murky puddles. I was surprised that I had not got a disease yet. 

But that night, it was too much. I could see lights ahead, but my legs, they would not carry me any further. I couldn't call out, my voice was too weak, and my throat too dry. I collapsed onto the ground. This felt like the end. The moon was high in the sky, and there were no clouds, so I could see the stars above, shining brightly. Ivy nudged my hand, pushing me to carry on, I tried to get up, but I didn't have enough strength. I sighed, looking at the stars. I wondered what father would do if he was here now. He would probably call out, or carry me home. I smiled at the thought. 

There was no way that I could possibly come back from this. A single tear fell from cheek and onto the grass beside me. The honest truth was, I didn't want to die. I was afraid. I had so much longer to live. So much more that I wanted to do. I wanted to be able to sit down and eat a full dinner, with my family. To hear their laughs, and see their smiles. I wanted to know that we were safe to live our lives without the fear of someone else ruining it all. But I knew that might never happen again. The only good thing about dying was that I would get to see my father. I would finally be with him. 

Maybe this was karma for killing those men, I thought to myself. That was the last thought before everything got dark, and faded away. 

\---

Suddenly, I awoke. My eyelids were heavy, as if I still needed more sleep. I looked down and saw that I was in a familiar bed, but frightened me most, was how bony I looked. There was hardly anything to me. My stomach grumbled angrily. But then, my eyes adjusted, and I saw where I was. The walls of my room in Winterfell. I was home. I had made it. Maybe this was heaven, and I was actually dead. 

The door of my room swung open, and Maester Luwin rushed in. "Gods, you are finally awake. Time to get you to eat something." He was holding a wooden bowl, that had steam coming from it. Soup. I swallowed it all down quickly. It was enough to silence my stomach. I must have looked horrible, by the way the Maester was looking at me. He sat on the end of the bed, where Ivy was still asleep. 

"How-" I began, but my voice came out as nothing but a croak. The Maester raised his hand to signal that it was no use.

"Don't. You need to let your throat recuperate. Here have some water. You arrived late last night, on the back of your wolf. You were severely dehydrated and starving, as well as sleep deprived. Willow, you could have died." He looked at me with a serious expression. 

"But I didn't." I whispered, smiling weakly. The Maester laughed. 

"The Starks will be the death of me." He muttered, jokingly before getting up and heading to the door. "Take as long as you need, my lady. There is more food waiting for you downstairs." He smiled, before leaving. 

It was so strange to be back at home. It had felt like an eternity since I had been here. But something about being there made me realize how big the hole in my chest was. I was missing someone. Father. It would never be the same with him gone. I couldn't stop myself from thinking that it was my fault. I should have escaped from Littlefinger earlier. I should have killed every last Lannister.

But father wouldn't like me to think that way. He had always taught that you should only kill when it was right to do so. And some of the Lannisters had done nothing wrong. None came to my mind at that moment. 

I wouldn't let the Lannisters ruin yet another moment that was meant to be happy, so I pushed the covers off my bony legs and got to my feet. I felt a tiny bit stronger, but not a lot. My legs still felt weak, but it was good enough. I put on new clean clothes, and looked at myself in the mirror. Without the dirt, I looked even skinnier. My hair was messy. Half longer than the other. I would even it out when it grow to shoulder length. 

I put on a cloak that had the Stark sigil on the shoulders and pulled on my boots. I slung my backpack on my back, along with my bow and arrow. Making sure that my sword and knife were safe on my belt, I walked out of the room, Ivy following close behind. I slowly made my way down the steps and into the hall. It was very empty, except for Bran and Rickon, a tall man I had seen hanging around in Winterfell, I think his name was Hodor, and a messy looking woman. She looked like a wildling. 

Rickon bounded towards me, hugging me, and almost knocking me over. I hugged him back, while smiling at Bran, who smiled back. "Willow, it's good to see you." He told me. He had been through so much. He had lost his legs and was the oldest Stark in Winterfell until now. He was looking healthy too, except for not being able to walk. I sat down next to him, and gathered lots of food onto my plate, and started devouring it. I felt eyes on me, but I didn't much care. I just wanted food. 

I spent most of that day talking and laughing and eating and drinking with Bran, Rickon, Hodor and the newly aquainted Osha, who was a wildling runaway. 

By the end of the day, I felt full, a lot stronger, and I could already see less of my bones. That felt good. With a couple more days of eating and laughing all day, I'd be as fit and as strong as a wolf. 


	16. Take My Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week later, Willow is healthy again, but can she stay in Winterfell?

4 (Season 2) - Take My Home

A week had passed since I had arrived at Winterfell on the verge of death. I had spent that week eating, drinking and sleeping. And sure enough, I was back to looking as normal as I had done before I left Winterfell in the first place. Except now, you could see that I had grown. My hair was longer, and I had managed to equal it out now so both sides went down to my jawline. My cheekbones were more prominent, my jawline more angular. I was taller, and there was a significant curvy in my hips. I didn't have much of a bottom, but my chest was getting larger. I looked at least 16, when in reality, I was only 14. 

I ran down the stairs happily. I still missed family, but my two younger brothers were enough to keep me content. 

I sat down and began breakfast, but screams outside made me drop the food. I ran outside, closely followed by Hodor, who was carrying Bran, Rickon and Osha. Maester was already outside. I gasped when I saw Theon at the gates. Running over to him, I hugged him tight, but he pushed me away. I frowned at him, with obvious hurt in my eyes. "The Greyjoys are taking back Winterfell!" He shouted. I looked behind him to see at least ten men standing with swords. It looked quite pathetic but I didn't say that to Theon. 

"Theon, what are you doing? Its been ages since I have seen you, don't ruin this." I asked him, with a slightly aggresive tone to my voice. If he took away my happiness, my home, then I would get very very angry at him, and he would regret it. 

He looked at me with a temporary hint of pain, before turning to everyone else. "You are all under the Greyjoys rule now! I am the Lord of Winterfell. You will bow before me!" He shouted. 

"You are no lord." I heard Maester Luwins voice behind me. He did have a point. If anything, I was the Lady of Winterfell, after all, I was the oldest Stark there. I looked into Theons eyes, and I could tell that he knew it too. 

I watched as he pushed over a cart of carrots, and stormed to the castle, his ten men behind him. He grabbed Ser Rodrik Cassel and through him to the ground. Ser Rodrik was close to the family. I had grown up with him. He had taught my brothers how to fight, and I had watched, learning as I went. 

Theon held his sword above Ser Rodrik's neck. "Don't you fucking dare." I hissed at Theon, the sudden Stark temper flaring inside of me. I had inherited that from my father. Theon looked sad for a moment, before bring the sword down. I screamed before running at him. There was no thought in my mind, other than the painful memory of someone else that I loved being beheaded by another power hungry man. I didn't to get my weapons, I didn't have time. Some of his men pulled me off Theon and back to where my brothers were. 

"I'm sorry, Willow." Theon said. 

"No you're not." I replied, tears falling. We were going to have to leave. It was not safe at Winterfell anymore, if people like Theon were willing to turn their back on their own family. I saw that the Maester knew that too. We were going to have to leave. 

\---

It was night time, Theon was asleep, and so were his men. I knew that I could kill every single one of them, but I couldn't live with that on my conscience.

I didn't need to pack as I already had my backpack, but I got into the familiar travelling clothes, but this time with the added Stark cloak, before hurrying, with Ivy down the steps to wear Rickon, Bran, Summer and Shaggydog, Osha and Hodor were waiting. Maester Luwin was also waiting, but he was going to stay at Winterfell. 

"Goodbye, Maester. Thank you so much for what you are doing for my family. Bless you. When I get back, you can have anything that you desire." I felt indebted to that man. Not only had he saved my life, but he had also protected my brothers, and taught us how to read when growing up, and how to write. He was like a grandfather. I loved him as if he was my own family. I hugged him one more time before leaving into the night. We couldn't go on horses because people would notice them gone, so we had to go on foot. 

We were hardly discreet. A giant, a cripple, a wildling, a child, a teenage girl, and three direwolves. We were probably noticeable from a mile away, but I didn't care, I had three weapons, and I wasn't afraid to use them. 

I looked back, tears welling in my eyes. I was leaving my home again, after only just arriving. But in that moment, I realized something. Home wasn't the buildling where you grew up in. Home was where ever your family was. And I had to protect mine now. 


	17. A Runaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willow has to make a tough decision.

5 (Season 2) - A Runaway

It was still nighttime when we stopped for a rest in the shadows of some trees. I was sitting amongst some tree roots, with Rickon sleeping on my lap. Hodor was sleeping on the floor, and the three direwolves were asleep too. Osha and Bran were awake. 

"Where are we going to go?" Bran whispered. I looked at Osha. 

"I don't know, my lord. We should find safety." She replied. I had practiced my language skills from beyond the wall with her, and sure enough, the book was working. 

"It's not that safe out here. And without food..." I sighed, remembering what had happened to me on the road last time. 

"Now you have all of us." Bran looked at me with comfort, and I smiled. 

"Thank you Bran." I replied, he nodded. He wasn't the same cheeky boy he had been before everyone had left Winterfell for Kings Landing. Now he was more reflective and quiet, as if he had changed as a person when he fell from that tower, I chose not to bring it up though. "You should get some sleep, Bran." I told him, he nodded and closed his eyes. I looked down at Rickon, he was fast asleep. He had grown a lot in the past few months. He was only seven though, he didn't deserve this kind of life. He should have had the time that my siblings and I had to play and make mistakes and learn lessons, but all he had were murderous people chasing after him. I little bit of guilt pulled at my heart. Then I realized something. 

"I should go." I whispered, Osha looked at me.

"What do you mean? My lady." She added. 

"The Kings guards are looking for me, they already think that Bran and Rickon are at Winterfell, so they aren't going to go there, as that would enhance the already ongoing war. But they don't know where I am, for all they know I am still in their territory. What I'm saying is, the longer I stay with Bran and Rickon, the more danger I am putting them in. I don't want to do that." I explained, Osha understood. 

"I will look after your brothers, my lady." She bowed her head when I nudged Rickon off me and onto the same blanket where Bran slept, and walked over to Osha. I looked her in the eye. 

"You don't have to call me your lady. I'm a friend." I smiled, I hugged her, we had grown close over the past few day when I had seen how much she cared for my little brothers. 

I walked over to Bran and Rickon, careful not to wake them up, and kissed them on their foreheads. Who knows what could happen in the future? Maybe I would die on the road, and I would never see them again. I took in their sweet innocent faces into my brain, before waking Ivy up. I took one last look at my brothers new family before disappearing into the night. 

\---

The truth was, I had no idea where I was going to go. I had no idea where Arya was, there was no word at the Eerie. Sansa was still in Kings Landing for all I knew, and Robb was busy fighting a war. I didn't have enough food to make it to Winterfell. 

I trudged through a dark forest, Ivy scouring ahead. I looked around, it was surprisingly quiet, usually in a forest, you expected to see at least five wild animals, but I had seen none. 

Suddenly, the sound of a twig breaking caught my ear and I got my bow and arrow ready to shoot. "Who's there?" I asked. Nobody replied, nothing moved. The silence was deafening.

"Come out and I won't hurt you. If you are just looking for food, I don't have any." I told the darkness. "Please just-" Someone put a piece of cloth over my mouth and nose so that I couldn't breathe. There was someone behind me that was trying to kill me, and I watched in horror as two other people appeared from the woods and tackled Ivy to the ground. 

I dropped the bow, to show a sign of cooperating, but when that did nothing, I grabbed an arrow and drove into the persons leg, they let out a cry and let go of my head, giving me enough time to kick the leg the wrong way. The sound of bones breaking made me cringe, but I pulled out my knife and drove it into the persons skull. As if being taken over by a more murderous and violent being, I sprinted over to the people that had Ivy, one of them swung a sword at me, but I dodged it and sliced their neck, blood sprayed all over me as they fell to the ground. The other one was busy looking at their dying friend, so I watched as Ivy ripped at their chest, blood going everywhere. The sound of blood gurgling slowly died down, and I came down back to earth, looking in horror at what I had done. I was covered in blood and mud. 

I looked at the bodies. All men. They each had the same weapons, swords. But they didn't have the lannister sigil on. Strange. I searched their clothes for any food, but instead found a piece of paper. It was a letter. 

"Don't listen to what King says, if you find the Stark girls, kill them." It wasn't signed by anyone, and it was written in scrawny handwriting. Someone was trying to kill my family. I threw the paper away, and ran away into the night, leaving a trail of muddy bloody footprints as I went. Ivy's dark fur had hints of red in it. We probably looked unrecognizable, which was definitely a good thing if more than one person was trying to find me. 

What had I done to need to be assassinated? I sighed, and sat down, leaning on the tree that was closest. I was close to the open road now, there were no other trees other than the one I was leaning on, and the sun was starting to rise. It created a beautiful haze of purple and orange light dancing across the sky, somewhere up there, my father was looking down on me, protecting me. I knew it. 

I thought back to Kings Landing, with Littlefinger. I remembered what he had said to me. "Don't trust anyone, always assume they are out for personal gain." That slimy fucker did have a point. Maybe it would be safer to live by that. 

Suddenly, it started raining. I looked to the sky, and the sun had disappeared, as if it was never there. The sky was a dark ghostly shade of grey, and there was lightning up ahead. A storm. My father was the one that had taught me how to survive in the wilderness, which meant reading the weather. There was usually only one thing that came after a storm in Westeros. And that was snow. 

Winter was coming, and faster than anyone knew. 


	18. Quick Temper, Slow Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willow travels to her brother Robb's camp. Will she make it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Season 2 finale, and as usual, I will post Season 3 soon. Thank you so much for reading! :)

7 (Season 2) - Quick Temper, Slow Mind

It was day time, and I was walking past a flowing river when I heard mens voices. I ducked behind a tree and aimed my arrow. There were four men, they looked like travelers, sitting on an idle cart. They looked like they were having a break. 

I listened in. "The King in the North. How did he get that title?" One of them laughed. 

"By winning three victories against the fucking Lannisters thats how!" One of them shouted. 

"Yeah, and you better behave better when we get to his camp, he won't let us fight with him if you are questioning his leadership." Another one said. I couldn't believe it, they were going to my brother Robb, to help with the war. I ran over, they must have seen a cloaked figure with a direwolf, as a scene of danger, and they got their swords out and pointed it at me. I raised my hands in surrender, and pulled my hood down, to reveal my face. I had rubbed as much blood and water off as I could, but I knew that it still lingered on my face, my hair was messy but it was shoulder length now. I knew that I was recognizeable as a Stark at least. 

"Hello. I was walking over there with my wolf, when I heard that you are going to Robb Stark's army? Is that true?" I asked. They looked at me dumbfounded. Apparently they had thought the rumours of me being dead were true. "Look, I just want to go to my brother. Please take me with you." 

One of them laughed, and I frowned. "We aren't going to risk our lives. The Lannisters are looking for you." They pointed out. Anger fueled deep inside of me, and stared them all directly in the eyes, my green eyes peering into their soul. 

"I am Willow Stark of Winterfell. Son of Eddard, and brother to the King in the North. If you don't take me to my brothers camp, I will slice all of your necks and feed you to my wolf." I whispered, as creepily as I could. Their smiles turned to frightened frowns and one of them nodded, gesturing for me to get onto the cart. "Thank you." I smiled, taking an apple from their cart and climbing up. I helped Ivy up too, and watched as two of them climbed to the front of the cart and began down the road. I could feel the eyes of the other two men watching me and my direwolf carefully. I had no intention of slitting their throats, and I had come to learn that Ivy wasn't very fond of the taste of humans so I wasn't going to do what I said, but they didn't know that. 

\---

A couple of days later, I was still on the trailer. I had briefly had a couple of conversations with the men, but I didn't mind not talking, afterall I had gone nearly three months without talking to anyone, so I knew that I could handle a couple more days of it. 

I watched in confusion as the cart turned down the wrong road, at a sign that said Kings Road. I turned to the riders at the front. "You are going down the wrong road, we need to turn left here to get to the camp!" I thought they were experienced travellers, but apparently not. 

"We know." One of the men at the back of the cart with me growled. He had a menacing face, and then I realized what they were doing. The cart came to a stop and the four men rounded on me. "We heard that if we return you to the Queen, we will get paid a good amount of money." One of them sneered. Ivy growled. One of them pulled my hands behind my back, and tied them. I tried to fight but they were too strong. They put some cloth and tied it around my mouth as I watched them push Ivy off the trailer. "We don't have enough space for a direwolf. And they don't belong here anyways. You are lucky that we aren't going to kill it." One of the men said, I had taught Ivy how to hunt when I was on the way to Winterfell, I knew that she would survive on her own, but the chances of her knowing where Robb's camp was, was very low. It could be the last time I see her, I thought to myself. I kicked my bag off the trailer, and she picked it up in her mouth, now I would have to find her. 

The last thing I saw was Ivy disappearing down the road, before I was knocked out into darkness. 


	19. Hell's Palace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revenge is sought for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading will slow down a little bit, but I will still post as much as I can. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! :)

1 (Season 3) - Hell's Palace

I awoke with a start. My head pounding from where I had been knocked out, and my heart pounding in my chest with rage. I didn't think of anything other than the hatred towards the men that had held me captive and abandoned my most loyal companion. 

I pulled my sword out and slashed one of their heads off, blood sprayed all over me, they looked confused, and scared. I didn't look at anything other than their faces. As if I was now another person, I dodged their blows swiftly slicing one of their throats and breaking another's neck. There was only one left. I threw my knife into his eye, before pulling my knife back and putting it into the belt. I felt blood dripping off me, but at least it wasn't my own. 

There was a clap, and I looked up. Apparently I had been so invested in killing those men, that I had not realized that I was standing in the huge throne room of the Red Keep. There were guards with their swords pointed towards me, and King Joffrey sitting on the Iron Throne, with the crown on top of his head. Cersei Lannister stood to the side of the throne, and I could see Tyrion Lannister off to the side. But standing next to a pillar was Tywin Lannister. He had blue eyes, and aged hair, but he looked evil. I had never met the father of the lannisters before, and I didn't plan on doing it now. I looked around for my sister, not caring about the hundreds of eyes on me. My eyes landed on her. She stood in a corner with some of her ladies that probably took care of her. She looked sad, and malnourished. But I didn't blame her if she was having to get married to people that murdered their father and tried to kill her sisters. 

Without a thought I pulled an arrow into my bow and aimed at the King's head. I heard the sound of guards taking a step forward and I felt one of their swords pressing against my neck. All it would take, I would just have to let go of the string and an arrow would dive through his head. He looked frightened. Of course he did. 

"Willow?" I heard Sansa whisper, pulling me out of my murderous gaze and drawing back my bow. I knew what I looked like. I was covered head to toe in mud and blood. I had messy hair that went to my shoulders, and I wore a dirty cloak and trousers that hardly fit anymore. I was growing. And had grown since they had last seen me. I looked more of a woman now, but not quite an adult just yet.

"Well then. You are definitely one of the Stark girls." I heard the man leaning against the pillar. Tywin Lannister. 

"Do you speak, or was your tongue cut out on the road?" Cersei's voice made my skin crawl. 

"Fuck. You." I whispered, staring at her with menacing green eyes. 

"That is no way to speak to the Kings mother!" Joffrey shouted, gesturing for the guards but Cersei held up her hand, still looking at me with a cruel smile. 

"No, it's ok. What is to be expected. Afterall, we did behead her father. I'm sure she was their watching too." Cersei smiled. The rage I felt was unimaginable. 

"You don't get to talk about my father." I shouted. Cersei sighed and gestured for the guards.

"Get her ready for a wedding. If thats possible." They came over and I got ready to fight, but there were too many, I was knocked out in an instant. 

\---

I awoke with a start. Looking around, I saw a familiar room. It was the room I had stayed in when I did not know how corrupt Kings Landing was. The old bedroom. I looked in the mirror. They had washed me and put a dress on, tying my hair into short plaits as much as they could. The dress they had put me in accentuated the new shape that I had, tight around the waist to show the curve and tight around the chest. It was uncomfortable, and it made me look 16 rather than my actual age of 14. I was going to turn 15 in four months. If I ever made it. 

I picked up my bag and searched. They hadn't taken my weapons. But they had thrown away my dirty clothes. Which was fair as they probably carried all sorts of disease on them. I sighed and opened the door. There was a guard outside, which made me think of Sandor Clegane. Where was he? I hadn't seen him in the throne room, and he was a kingsguard afterall. What was happening. 

There was the sound of footsteps, and I saw Littlefinger walking towards me. I threw him against the wall and held my hand to his throat. "You have nerve, that's for sure." I hissed. He looked shocked at the greeting. I sighed and let him go. 

"Your father greeted me like that when your mother came to Kings Landing." He smiled at the memory. When he saw my facial expression, he cleared his throat. "My understanding is that you will not have heard what is going on in Westeros as you were on your travels." He smiled the familiar cunning smile.

"Go on." I eyed him suspiciously. He gestured that it would be safer to talk in my room and I nodded, closing the door behind him. I sat down on the bed and he sat down next to me. "Do you know where Arya is? And Sansa. Is she ok? What about Robb? Is he-" Petyr raised his hands to stop the flow of questions. 

"Arya has not been seen since she left the castle. Nobody knows where she is. Sansa... Sansa is getting what she signed up for when she asked to be engaged to Joffrey. However, Joffrey cut off that engagement and is now engaged to Lady Margaery of House Tyrell. Your brother, Robb, is planning his next battle against the Lannisters, but it seems that only the gods know that he is running on pure luck and Stark rage. Your mother is on the road with Lady Brienne of Tarth. She is going to persuade Renly Baratheon to help against the fight with Robb. His brother, Stannis Baratheon fought with the Lannisters in the Battle of the Blackwater as he believes that now his brother Robert is dead, he is the rightful heir to the throne. Your brother Jon, has gone south of the wall with the nightswatch. And you, sweet thing, are to marry Tyrion Lannister, and create an allied force betweenn the Starks and the Lannisters." He explained. 

All of the information was absorbed slowly. "Ok, so no Arya, Sansa doesn't like Joffrey anymore, Joffrey is still an annoying little boy, Robb is winning against the Lannisters, mother is on the road, and more people don't like the Lannisters. Everything apart from Arya sounds good to me." I sighed, it could be worse. 

"It appears that you have blocked out the one piece of information most important to you." Petyr smiled his annoying smile. I frowned and thought back to what he had said, when it dawned on me. I got to my feet. 

"Nope. No. There is no way. I am not marrying a Lannister. I don't care if he is the least worst of them, he is still part of the family that is trying to murder my family. No. Nobody can make me. I am leaving now." I half-shouted. I could not be forced into a marriage, that was inhumanely. I could not and would not marry a Lannister. I would marry when I wanted to, to a person that I loved. 

"The King commands that you marry Tyrion." Littlefinger explained before walking to the door, he opened it and turned back to me. "Oh and one more thing. Anyone with a clever mind knows that eventually revenge always gets its way." He smiled, before exiting the room swiftly and quietly. I wasn't fond of Lord Baelish, but there were worse people in Westeros, so I would not waste my time hating him. 

I sat back down on the bed and put my head in my hands, to help me think, but the door of the room swung open and I stood up to attention. Sansa. We hugged each other. It had been almost a year. We were older now. Almost 15. We broke apart and looked at each other with tears. We had gone down such different paths. "Have you seen our family?" She whispered, in a timid voice. I nodded.

"I saw Bran and Rickon in Winterfell. They are ok, Bran has a giant named Hodor, and a wilding friend called Osha. They had to leave Winterfell. Theon captured Winterfell and executed Ser Rodrik, and Maester Luwin... I am not sure what happened to him. The last I heard about it was that Theon's men had abandoned him and set fire to Winterfell. It could be lies though. I heard that Jon has gone beyond the wall, Robb, well you already know. But nobody has heard or seen Arya." I explained. She nodded. She looked weak so I gestured for us to sit down. I looked her with a serious look, holding her hands gently.

"Sansa, what are they doing to you?" I asked. She looked to the ground and didn't answer. I sighed. "I am going to escape soon. There is no way I am marrying a Lannister. You should come with me. I am going to travel to Robb and mother, at their war camp. Please, Sansa. You aren't safe here." I whispered, in case people heard. But I put as much pleading into my voice as possible. She looked at me, she had scared eyes. But they weren't just scared. She looked defiant. 

"I am not leaving here until I have done what needs to be done. I will get revenge for father. I will see you again though, Willow. I promise. Please keep an eye out for Arya." And with that, she got up and left the room. 

The last person to enter my room, was Tyrion Lannister. He half-stumbled in, causing me to look at him with a mixture of shock and disgust. He was drunk. 

"Tyrion Lannister." I whispered, I had never seen him up close before. I heard so many stories about him, I remembered being so excited to meet him back in Winterfell, I did not imagine our first meeting to be like this. 

He bowed theatrically when I said his name and he sat himself down on the chair. He looked at me carefully, his blue eyes trying to read me. "You don't look at me the same way most people do." He observed. 

"You are a Lannister. I don't like Lannisters." I replied, with a grimace.

He chuckled a little. "No, I wasn't talking about that. Most people look at me as if they are superior to such a creature." He emphasized the word creature.

"You aren't a creature. The only thing creature-like about you is what family you are part of. But, Lord Tyrion, I must say, you are the least worst Lannister of them all." I smiled weakly. I had never met Tyrion, but I knew that he was different to the other Lannisters, he seemed kinder and more understanding. He raised his glass to me before gulping more wine down. 

"We are engaged, I heard." He laughed, but suddenly his face looked sad as he looked at me. "How old are you?" He asked me. 

"I'm 14, I turn 15 soon though." I replied. He looked down to the ground and muttered something before taking a big swig of wine. 

"And I assume that you do not want to marry a Lannister." He already knew the answer but I replied anyway. 

"Not particularly, no." 

"I don't want you to have to do anything against your will." He looked at me. 

"Thank you, Lord Tyrion. But I feel that your sister thinks differently." 

He laughed in agreement. "Not just my sister. Father too. Oh, and you can't forget my arrogant nephew, of course." These words released a small laugh out of me that I hadn't heard in almost a year. He smiled at my shock. 

"You have had a tough journey, but I am not going to stop you if you want to get back on the road." He nodded to the balcony. 

"I couldn't. Not yet." I replied. 

"Why not?"

"I have something I need to do before I leave." 


	20. No Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willow tries to escape Kings Landing

2 (Season 3) - No Break

I scoured hall after hall, looking. Until finally, I found him. In the near empty throne room. Lord Baelish was staring longingly at the throne, but his gaze turned to me when I strode into the room. I walked straight past him and stopped when I got to a shadow cast by one of the pillars. I gestured him to come over. 

"May I ask why here?" He asked, looking at the pillar. I pointed to the door that let out into the gardens. 

"We are going for a walk. I have some things that I need to say to you before I go." I told him. He nodded and we walked out into the garden. For courtesy, a woman was taught to put her arm through a mans when she walked in places such as the garden in the Red Keep. So, in order to not draw attention, Lord Baelish walked with arms linked graciously. I probably looked like an honourable princess at that moment. 

"Lord Baelish-" I began but he raised his hand. He pointed to a small servant boy that was eyeing us suspiciously. And then to an old gardener, and then to a Septa who was sewing. Then I understood. 

"Little birds. So it's not just you?" I asked. He laughed and shook his head. 

"Some of them belong to me. But some of them belong to Lord Varys, and Queen Cersei." He replied. I nodded. 

"So you're all slimy bastards." I sighed, my words caused him to laugh out loud. 

"Didn't you use one of the women from my building as your own little bird?" He looked at me, I couldn't quite place if he was proud or annoyed. Possibly both. 

"Two things, one, I actually used many of the women from your building. And two, who said that I wasn't a slimy bastard too?" I smiled. After a couple of seconds of silence, I looked serious and turned to Littlefinger. "Lord Baelish, there is something I must ask of you." He eyed me, before realizing how serious I was. He brought me over to a dark corner of the garden, where no one could hear or see us. "And before you say, I do remember what you said. About not trusting anyone." 

"I am glad that you remember..." He said, with his infamously cunning smile having returned. 

"My sister, Sansa. As I cannot see where the Hound has gone, will you protect her?" I asked him. He looked thoughtful.

"You are going from a tall brutish warrior to 'slimy bastard'?" He asked, the smile still there.

"Well, someone once told me that knowledge is power. I heard that you are set to marry my Aunt Lysa in the Eerie. All I ask is that you take my sister with you. She will be safe there. Safer than here." I explained. He continued to look at me suspiciously, so I continued. "I do know what you did to my father. But my father always taught that you should forgive someone if they have made up for their wrongdoings. Not only have you taught me valuable lessons that I know will one day save my life, but right now, I am giving you a chance to redeem your name to the Starks. We will all be greatful, and maybe even think less of trying to kill you." I explained. 

"I do owe it to Catelynn. Ok, I will try to persuade your sister to come with you, but you know how stubborn the Starks are. If she doesn't want to come with me, I won't force her." He told me. I smiled.

I started to turn away, before turning my head back slightly to say ,'You know, Littlefinger. I am quite fond of you. You are a clever man." I smiled, I didn't trust him at all, in fact I would probably trust Tyrion, a Lannister, more than Littlefinger, but that did not mean that he had not grown on me.

"You do remind me of your mother." He told me. I rolled my eyes and laughed. 

"Lord Baelish, tell my sister that I say goodbye, and that I wish her luck. Both you and her luck." And with that, we parted ways and I exited the garden.

\----

I had run back to my room, at night time, and put on a new pair of travelling clothes that I had found in Sansa's room. They were a lot more stylish than my old ones. I wore black pants, that fit tightly to the shape of my long legs, and a black dress, that had a turtle neck, and winged sleeves, it was tight fitting and flattering. The chest had a v-neck that showed my collarbones and a small amount of my chest but no cleavage, thankfully. The shoulder pointed outwards and had the stark sigil on either side. My hair was long enough tie back so I had it in two small warrior braids.. My boots were sturdy, and I wore a belt that allowed my knife and sword to go in. I had my backpack on and had slung my bow and arrow on my back too. I looked like a warrior. And I was ready to be one. 

I slid out of my room and down the steps silently. I watched as guards went past, but they did not see me as I slid through the shadows. I peeked into the throne room, just some guards waiting for any sign of breach. I counted 5 near the front door of the castle. I could take them out one by one. I took off my bow and pulled an arrow out, I pulled the string back and aimed at one of the guards. They were easy shots. But I shouldn't waste arrows, and I had to hit accurately as to get past the armour. I would have to go for their faces, which were the least protected part of their bodies. 

I hid behind a pillar, and aimed at one of the guards faces, closest to me. I shot them in the throat, and blood spilled everywhere but he didn't make a sound, only quiet gurgling which slowly died down. I was careful not to get any blood on the new clothes that I wore. I picked the arrow up and pulled it back again, I couldn't waste them. The next closest guard was not in the eyeline of any other guard so I did the same with his throat, and he fell to the floor. Three left. One of them was close to another pillar, but the other two were at the door. I would have to get those at the same time. I crept up behind the guard closest to the pillar and broke his neck from behind, lowering him to the ground silently, before sneaking behind one of the guards at the door, and shooting an arrow through a gap in his armour at the back of his neck, that went straight through him and into the other one's throat. They both collapsed to the floor in piles of blood and I picked up the arrow. It was still in good condition so I wiped it on one of the guards clothes before placing it back in its carrier, along with my bow. 

I wasn't ready to leave yet though. I rolled up my sleeves slightly and covered my finger in one of their blood before writing 'The Lannisters Always Pay Their Debts' on the floor of the throne room. They were going to have a surprise when they woke up. I smiled to myself before sprinting out of the castle and down to the stable. I climbed onto a horse and road down the empty night streets and out of Kings Landing. 

I had escaped once again, leaving a trail of death behind me. 


End file.
